Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms “Sector Perform” Rating for CME Group (NASDAQ:CME)

Royal Bank of Canada restated their sector perform rating on shares of CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $235.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America lifted their price target on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a hold rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $213.77.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $224.43 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.81 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a P/E/G ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $212.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $207.69. CME Group has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $226.78.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. Analysts predict that CME Group will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bluefin Capital Management LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,891,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its position in CME Group by 81.4% in the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 44,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,588,000 after acquiring an additional 19,985 shares in the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services boosted its stake in CME Group by 66.5% in the 1st quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 45,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,708,000 after purchasing an additional 18,017 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,477,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,184,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.