CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Given Sector Perform Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their sector perform rating on shares of CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $235.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

CME has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a hold rating and a $221.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $213.77.

CME Group Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $224.43 on Thursday. CME Group has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $226.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $212.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $80.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that CME Group will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Insider Activity

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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in CME Group in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 66.1% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

About CME Group

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.