CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Piper Sandler Analyst Says

Key Points

• Piper Sandler raised its price target on CME to $329 (from $313) and kept an "overweight" rating, implying roughly an 11.17% upside from the current share price.
• CME posted a slight quarterly EPS beat ($2.77 vs. $2.75) with revenue up 8.1% and a strong net margin (62.45%), and analysts forecast about 10.49 EPS for the fiscal year.
• The analyst consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $309.65, based on a mix of 2 Strong Buy, 8 Buy, 6 Hold and 2 Sell ratings.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at Piper Sandler from $313.00 to $329.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Piper Sandler's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.17% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CME Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $309.65.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $295.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $106.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.26. CME Group has a 52 week low of $251.90 and a 52 week high of $329.16. The company's 50-day moving average price is $306.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $285.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.52 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total value of $91,770.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at $809,700. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in CME Group by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 156,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,867,000 after buying an additional 22,286 shares during the period. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in CME Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 38,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,646,000 after buying an additional 1,324 shares during the period. Finally, Winthrop Partners WNY LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,280,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world's largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company's core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.

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