CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Downgraded by Bank of America to “Underperform”

Bank of America cut shares of CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a research report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $177.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $212.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an overweight rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $209.73.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5 %

CME opened at $220.50 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $79.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 6.51 and a beta of 0.52. CME Group has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $223.80. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $203.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.61.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. CME Group’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that CME Group will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,399,936.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CME. Second Half Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $2,737,000. Bluefin Capital Management LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,891,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its holdings in CME Group by 81.4% during the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 44,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,588,000 after buying an additional 19,985 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 229.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 292,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,618,000 after purchasing an additional 203,769 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.