Key Points
- Director insider sale: CME Group Director Martin Gepsman sold 400 shares for $121,000, reducing his position by 1.56% while retaining 25,244 shares.
- Strong quarterly results: CME reported $1.74 billion in revenue and $3.02 adjusted EPS, exceeding analyst estimates, with revenue up 10.6% year over year.
- Analyst sentiment is mixed: Recent upgrades include JPMorgan’s “overweight” rating and a $367 target, but the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold” with an average target price of $313.29.
CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) Director Martin Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.50, for a total transaction of $121,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,244 shares in the company, valued at $7,636,310. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.
CME Group Stock Up 3.4%
Shares of CME Group stock opened at $305.98 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The stock has a market cap of $110.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $276.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $270.49.
CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 63.33%. The firm's revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
CME Group Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.11%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
CME has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $286.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $315.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of CME Group from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $367.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $292.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $313.29.
Read Our Latest Research Report on CME
Key Headlines Impacting CME Group
Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Record Q3 performance: CME reported revenue of $1.74 billion, up 10.6% year over year and ahead of the $1.71 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted EPS of $3.02 also exceeded expectations, while average daily volume reached a record 29.4 million contracts. Growth was supported by higher derivatives activity, transaction fees and market-data revenue. CME Group third-quarter results
- Positive Sentiment: Capital returns and operating momentum: CME returned nearly $1 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Management also highlighted record participation, international volume growth and plans to launch CME Securities Clearing on December 7, potentially expanding its clearing business. CME Securities Clearing launch
- Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgrade: JPMorgan raised CME from “underweight” to “overweight” and established a $367 price target, implying substantial potential upside. The upgrade reflects confidence in CME’s volume growth and earnings outlook. JPMorgan CME rating
- Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst view: UBS raised its price target from $270 to $310 but maintained a “neutral” rating, suggesting analysts see limited near-term upside at the current valuation. UBS CME rating
- Negative Sentiment: Expense concerns and insider selling: The stock initially faced pressure because quarterly expenses disappointed despite the earnings beat. Director Martin Gepsman also sold 400 shares worth $121,000; the relatively small transaction leaves him with approximately 25,244 shares, so its signaling value appears limited. Martin Gepsman insider transaction
Institutional Trading of CME Group
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,749,965,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $769,376,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $629,771,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $622,679,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.
CME Group Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that provide trading, clearing and settlement services for futures and options contracts. Its products cover major asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy and metals. The company also provides market data, benchmark information and related services used by financial institutions, corporations, producers, investors and other market participants.
CME Group's exchange portfolio includes CME, the Chicago Board of Trade, the New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX.
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