Barclays Raises CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target to $299.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) had its price target raised by Barclays from $283.00 to $299.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded CME Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CME Group from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on CME Group from $282.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $260.93.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $275.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,531,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,194,464. CME Group has a 52 week low of $193.17 and a 52 week high of $290.79. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $276.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $258.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $99.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.44.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 57.71%. The business's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total value of $271,280.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $790,781.20. This trade represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total transaction of $817,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,824. This trade represents a 35.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 13,400 shares of company stock worth $3,680,610. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 206.9% during the 2nd quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 122.2% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 612.5% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 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.