CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Director Howard Siegel Sells 2,000 Shares of Company Stock

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Director Howard Siegel sold 2,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.00, for a total transaction of $606,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,021,519. This represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

CME Group Stock Down 0.7%

CME opened at $304.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $281.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $280.34. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 63.33% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised CME Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $367.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on CME Group from $315.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on CME Group from $337.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $286.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.44.

Key CME Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME Group’s market-data revenue reached a record $243 million last quarter, providing a recurring revenue stream alongside trading-related income. Trading activity was also described as strong across several markets, which may support near-term results. CME Group market-data revenue article
• Neutral Sentiment: The CFTC has cleared stock perpetual futures for trading on U.S. registered exchanges. This could broaden the products available in the futures market, but the report does not specify the impact on CME Group. Article on CFTC approval of stock perpetual futures
• Negative Sentiment: Two insiders sold shares on Nov. 2. Julie Winkler sold 10,079 shares, reducing her position by about 32%, while director Howard Siegel sold 2,000 shares, reducing his holding by about 9%. Insider sales can weigh on sentiment, though both retained shares and the transactions do not necessarily indicate a change in the company’s outlook. CME Group insider sales report

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CME. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,749,965,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in CME Group by 39.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,019,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,187,290,000 after buying an additional 1,130,587 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. bought a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $769,376,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $629,771,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

About CME Group

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.