CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $312.00 and last traded at $310.4620, with a volume of 133907 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $308.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.53.

CME Group Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $284.94 and a 200 day moving average of $275.23. The company has a market capitalization of $115.79 billion, a PE ratio of 28.77, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.80%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total transaction of $1,300,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 43,007 shares in the company, valued at $13,317,117.55. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,248 shares of company stock worth $8,355,450. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,895,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,802,366,000 after purchasing an additional 588,509 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,144,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,408,747,000 after purchasing an additional 56,725 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,178,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,524,271,000 after purchasing an additional 319,899 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,571,447,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in CME Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,924,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,344,776,000 after buying an additional 134,242 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

About CME Group

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.