CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Rating Lowered by Citigroup

Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $250.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock, down from their previous price target of $255.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CME. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $221.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $229.00.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock traded down $6.68 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $225.82. The stock had a trading volume of 2,297,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,047,338. The company has a market cap of $81.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $249.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $232.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $217.92.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total value of $1,019,880.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares in the company, valued at $6,131,291.92. This trade represents a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were 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 directly owns 25,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in CME Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 515.2% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently 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.