CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) from a neutral rating to an underweight rating in a research note released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $187.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $206.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on CME. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Argus increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a hold rating and issued a $210.00 target price (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $215.90.

CME Group Trading Up 0.3 %

CME Group stock opened at $195.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $70.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.52. CME Group has a one year low of $177.97 and a one year high of $223.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $206.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.09.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that CME Group will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.33%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,399,936.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,290 shares of company stock valued at $11,393,700 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gold Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the first quarter worth $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 966.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.