CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Raised to $219.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $200.00 to $219.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 16.63% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James raised CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $241.53.

CME Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $262.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 837,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,049,588. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $250.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.53. CME Group has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $267.91. The company has a market capitalization of $94.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. As a group, research analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CME. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Company Profile

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.