CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Raised to $303.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) had its price objective upped by Oppenheimer from $300.00 to $303.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $261.93.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME traded up $2.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $279.55. The stock had a trading volume of 1,834,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,117,443. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group has a 52 week low of $193.25 and a 52 week high of $290.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $276.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $262.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.74 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.44.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.28, for a total value of $271,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $790,781.20. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Phyllis M. Lockett sold 1,060 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.88, for a total value of $294,552.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $863,651.04. This represents a 25.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,400 shares of company stock worth $3,152,410 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter worth $377,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 256.9% in the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $971,000 after buying an additional 2,636 shares during the period. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 1st quarter worth $367,000. Fulcrum Equity Management bought a new stake in CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $258,000. Finally, Aspire Growth Partners LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $548,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.