CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to Overweight Rating

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $301.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on CME. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank raised CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $247.47.

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CME Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $3.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $261.54. The company had a trading volume of 2,756,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,136,648. The stock has a market cap of $94.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $273.42. The business's 50-day moving average is $255.22 and its 200-day moving average is $239.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. Equities analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was 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 51.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,243,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,952,273,000 after purchasing an additional 326,623 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,389,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,946,717,000 after purchasing an additional 104,697 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of CME Group by 89.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,923,047,000 after buying an additional 3,921,278 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,107,389,000. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its position in CME Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,081,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $947,821,000 after buying an additional 61,908 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

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.