CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Director Dennis Suskind Sells 748 Shares of Stock

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $224,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $809,700. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $307.24 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $239.70 and a 12 month high of $307.84. The company has a market cap of $110.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $277.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CME. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on CME Group from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.59.

Key Stories Impacting CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional buy — Intermede Investment Partners disclosed a new ~$77.8M position in CME on a 13F filing, signaling meaningful institutional demand that can support the share rally. Fund Update: New $77.8M $CME stock position opened by Intermede Investment Partners Ltd
• Positive Sentiment: Product / distribution win — FlexTrade integrated CME’s FX Spot+ and EBS Market offerings into its FlexFX system, expanding CME’s distribution and potential FX flow capture. That supports revenue growth in FX products. FlexTrade Integrates CME Group’s FX Spot+ and EBS Market Offerings for Enhanced FX Trading
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation note — A Seeking Alpha piece argues CME’s fundamentals are strong but the stock looks “fully valued,” reinforcing mixed views among investors about near-term upside vs. stretched multiples. CME Group’s Strength Is Clear, But The Stock Looks Fully Valued
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares (~21.7% of his holding) for ~$224k; this is one of several recent insider sales disclosed and can be interpreted as a modest negative signal by some investors. SEC Form 4: Dennis Suskind sale
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst stance — Goldman Sachs kept a sell rating on CME while nudging its price target to $266, which reinforces downside views among some institutional investors and may cap upside despite bullish flows. Goldman Sachs adjusts price target on CME Group to $266 from $264, maintains sell rating

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jessup Wealth Management Inc grew its position in CME Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.