CME Group Inc (NASDAQ:CME)’s share price was down 11.9% during mid-day trading on Monday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $216.00 to $168.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. CME Group traded as low as $136.72 and last traded at $139.54, approximately 3,845,221 shares changed hands during mid-day trading. An increase of 68% from the average daily volume of 2,289,641 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.41.
A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on CME Group from $183.00 to $173.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank dropped their price objective on CME Group from $260.00 to $243.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $234.00 target price for the company. BidaskClub cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded CME Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $208.27.
In related news, COO Julie Holzrichter sold 3,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.37, for a total value of $622,515.57. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,284 shares in the company, valued at $7,582,447.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 5,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.97, for a total transaction of $1,185,651.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,298,300.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,009,327. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.
Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Evoke Wealth LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the third quarter valued at $27,000. CFM Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Thor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at $34,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
The company’s fifty day moving average price is $199.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.23. The stock has a market cap of $56.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.
CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.54 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 43.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.77 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.
About CME Group (NASDAQ:CME)
CME Group Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers a range of products across various asset classes, including futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities, and metals, as well as fixed income products.
