CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Earns “Sector Perform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reiterated by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $269.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.71% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Erste Group Bank upgraded CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.53.

CME Group Stock Down 5.2 %

CME stock opened at $254.46 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $252.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. CME Group has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $273.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake 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. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

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.