CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Raised to $296.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target increased by Piper Sandler from $283.00 to $296.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CME. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $261.80.

CME Group Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of CME stock opened at $277.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $100.12 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group has a 1-year low of $193.25 and a 1-year high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $276.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.36.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.71% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total transaction of $294,552.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $863,651.04. This trade represents a 25.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total transaction of $817,680.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,471,824. This trade represents a 35.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,400 shares of company stock valued at $3,680,610. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in CME Group by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 86,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,190,000 after buying an additional 19,533 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $268,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 67,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,642,000 after purchasing an additional 3,644 shares in the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 1,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 93,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,731,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.