CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Cut to $304.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• CME Group's price target has been reduced from $313.00 to $304.00 by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group, maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Other analysts have conflicting views, with Citigroup raising their target to $300.00 and Deutsche Bank lowering theirs to $266.00, while the consensus target price stands at $281.00.
• The company reported earnings of $2.96 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and reflecting a 10.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $313.00 to $304.00 in a research report issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.08% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup raised CME Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on CME Group from $303.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on CME Group from $276.00 to $266.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on CME Group from $281.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $281.00.

CME Group Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of CME opened at $268.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 0.41. CME Group has a 1 year low of $213.94 and a 1 year high of $290.79. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $269.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. CME Group's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $102,704.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 7,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,056,962. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 11,896 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.47, for a total transaction of $3,229,407.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 17,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,734,436.80. This represents a 40.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jessup Wealth Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,197,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its position in CME Group by 2.7% during the second quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 2.0% during the second quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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