CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Raised to $266.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $264.00 to $266.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “sell” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 12.00% from the stock’s previous close.

CME has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.59.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $302.27 on Monday. CME Group has a 12 month low of $239.70 and a 12 month high of $302.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $276.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $273.00. The stock has a market cap of $109.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.27.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi grew its stake in CME Group by 24.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,987,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $548,150,000 after purchasing an additional 385,225 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 70,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,106,000 after acquiring an additional 5,773 shares in the last quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 86.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 29,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,896,000 after acquiring an additional 13,512 shares in the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 85.2% during the third quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 3,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 310.2% in the second quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 3,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $839,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.