CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $261.60, but opened at $252.18. CME Group shares last traded at $252.2520, with a volume of 574,974 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CME. UBS Group reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $305.00 target price on the stock. Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered CME Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.71.

CME Group Stock Down 4.1%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $283.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $90.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.21.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,860.26. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CME. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 2,075.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.