CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Given New $255.00 Price Target at Citigroup

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target lifted by Citigroup from $250.00 to $255.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

CME has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen started coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.07.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $228.20. The stock had a trading volume of 106,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,926,765. CME Group has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $230.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.17 billion, a PE ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $218.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.66.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,504.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CME. Capital International Investors raised its stake in CME Group by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,809,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,403,557,000 after buying an additional 3,069,806 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 11.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,038,676,000 after purchasing an additional 537,758 shares during the period. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd raised its position in shares of CME Group by 1.1% during the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 4,009,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $863,112,000 after purchasing an additional 43,293 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,029,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $595,530,000 after purchasing an additional 94,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in CME Group by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,835,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,371,000 after purchasing an additional 176,004 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

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.