CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Raised to $320.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Raymond James Financial from $310.00 to $320.00 in a research note issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Raymond James Financial’s price target points to a potential upside of 4.37% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.65.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $306.59 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $304.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $283.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group has a 12-month low of $248.53 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.26.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.52 EPS. Analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $809,700. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,999 shares in the company, valued at $7,647,194.10. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,539 shares of company stock worth $2,713,821 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Caldwell Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 116.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.