CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $230.71 and last traded at $230.23, with a volume of 868435 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $227.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CME shares. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.47.

CME Group Stock Down 0.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $81.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $223.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. This represents a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in CME Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,823,964,000 after purchasing an additional 142,692 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 11.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,038,676,000 after purchasing an additional 537,758 shares in the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.1% in the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 4,009,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $863,112,000 after buying an additional 43,293 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.2% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,029,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $595,530,000 after buying an additional 94,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in CME Group by 6.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,835,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,371,000 after purchasing an additional 176,004 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.