CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold” Rating

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on CME. Barclays lifted their price objective on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $259.87.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $274.83 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $276.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $257.89. CME Group has a 52-week low of $193.17 and a 52-week high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.44.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a net margin of 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total value of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. The trade was a 12.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total value of $108,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 6,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,861,470. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CME. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 122.2% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 612.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.