CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Raised to $230.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target upped by Bank of America from $226.00 to $230.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has an underperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on CME. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $316.00 to $270.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $323.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.81.

CME Group Trading Up 0.4%

CME stock opened at $255.31 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The company has a market cap of $92.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $254.13 and a 200-day moving average of $281.22.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CME Group will post 12.27 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.11%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CME. 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 2,075.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME Group’s Q2 results topped expectations, and the stock was reported higher on the earnings beat. US Stock Market: CME shares jump 6% after Q2 profit beats estimates; strong hedging demand boosts results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts noted strong fundamentals and at least one rating upgrade following the earnings release, which can support investor confidence. CME Group: Q2 Earnings Results Lead To A Rating Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Hold rating and kept its $260 target, signaling solid fundamentals but limited upside at current valuation. Neutral Stance Reiterated on CME as Solid Fundamentals Meet Valuation Limits; $260 Price Target Maintained
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America and JPMorgan both maintained bearish/underweight views, even though they slightly raised price targets, highlighting ongoing caution about upside. Analyst price target updates
• Negative Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful short position, so this headline is unlikely to be a real stock driver and does not change the core thesis.

CME Group Company Profile

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.