CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Raised to $314.00 at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on CME Group from $312.00 to $314.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.91% from the stock's previous close and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• As of now, CME Group has a consensus rating of "Hold," with analysts providing a diverse outlook, where eight recommend a Buy, six a Hold, and three a Sell.
• CME Group reported $2.68 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, despite a 3% decline in revenues compared to the same period last year.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $312.00 to $314.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target points to a potential upside of 15.91% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on CME. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $288.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on CME Group from $309.00 to $307.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $266.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $284.87.

CME Group Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of CME stock opened at $270.90 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $97.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27, a P/E/G ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group has a 12-month low of $213.94 and a 12-month high of $290.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $266.67 and a 200-day moving average of $271.45.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.48% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The company's revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $265.19 per share, for a total transaction of $69,479.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 258,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,540,742.21. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total value of $98,475.57. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,470,463.64. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,043 shares of company stock valued at $3,527,956 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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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