CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Upgraded at Raymond James

Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $287.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their price target on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.93.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $256.72 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $263.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $241.74 and its 200-day moving average is $231.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.55, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,076 shares of company stock worth $4,271,496. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 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.