CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Lowered to $256.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target cut by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $260.00 to $256.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.40% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CME. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ CME traded up $0.61 during trading on Monday, reaching $229.81. 488,840 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,922,549. CME Group has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $249.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $82.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $232.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $218.87.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 188.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in CME Group by 120.3% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 62.2% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 52.4% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.