Erste Group Bank Downgrades CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) to Hold

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) was downgraded by analysts at Erste Group Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on CME. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $316.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $305.29.

CME Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $256.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $92.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.21. CME Group has a 12-month low of $244.56 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $289.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.82. 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, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,397,597.04. This represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,297,507. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 67,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,882,000 after purchasing an additional 7,672 shares in the last quarter. First Nebraska Trust Co bought a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $577,000. Keel Point LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 1,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in CME Group by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 268,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,411,000 after buying an additional 37,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,810,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.