CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Reaches New 1-Year High After Earnings Beat

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $253.53 and last traded at $248.18, with a volume of 420017 shares. The stock had previously closed at $241.74.

The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.27.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,723,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $89.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $235.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

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.