Brokerages Set CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) PT at $217.30

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $217.30.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Argus boosted their price objective on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “sell” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, January 4th.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $212.88 on Wednesday. CME Group has a 52 week low of $175.73 and a 52 week high of $223.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $76.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $211.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.76.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 57.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.92 EPS. Equities analysts expect that CME Group will post 9.63 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,378,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 189.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 131,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,772,000 after purchasing an additional 86,325 shares during the period. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $105,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $782,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, MONECO Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $227,000. 87.75% of the stock is 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.