CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Announces $1.15 Quarterly Dividend

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 7th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of 1.15 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, December 27th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%.

CME Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 9.0% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. CME Group has a payout ratio of 44.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect CME Group to earn $10.24 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 44.9%.

CME Group Price Performance

CME traded up $0.87 on Thursday, hitting $222.04. 1,999,477 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,919,227. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $221.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $230.36. The firm has a market cap of $79.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.55.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a "hold" rating and a $221.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $222.73.

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.