CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Raised to $263.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its target price hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $262.00 to $263.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a sell rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

CME has been the topic of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $266.00 to $300.00 in a report on Thursday. Citigroup raised CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $275.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays cut their price target on CME Group from $298.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on CME Group from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Eight 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $284.53.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $269.54 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $266.47 and a 200-day moving average of $271.78. The company has a market cap of $97.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group has a 52 week low of $213.94 and a 52 week high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total value of $102,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 7,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,056,962. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total value of $3,229,407.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 17,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,734,436.80. This trade represents a 40.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Webster Bank N. A. grew its position in CME Group by 206.9% in the 2nd quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 116.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 84.3% in the 2nd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 122.2% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.