CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Receives $224.47 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $224.47.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America raised their price objective on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on CME Group in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price for the company.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. This represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,028 shares of company stock valued at $1,811,681 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in CME Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in CME Group by 66.1% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 515.2% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

CME opened at $238.00 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $225.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.77 billion, a PE ratio of 25.03, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group has a 52 week low of $190.70 and a 52 week high of $238.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

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.