Raymond James Financial Issues Positive Forecast for CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Price

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target raised by stock analysts at Raymond James Financial from $310.00 to $320.00 in a report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Raymond James Financial’s target price indicates a potential upside of 4.37% from the company’s previous close.

CME has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.65.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $306.59 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $109.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.26. CME Group has a 1 year low of $248.53 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $304.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $283.25.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The firm 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 firm posted $2.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,317,117.55. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. West Family Investments Inc. increased 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 valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during 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. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,147,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in CME Group by 4.3% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlatl Advisers LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 38 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.