Brokerages Set CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) PT at $238.93

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $238.93.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James upgraded CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their target price on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,686,980. This represents a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,108,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,560,000 after buying an additional 37,911 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 3.3% in the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 4,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in CME Group by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,709,000 after acquiring an additional 2,370 shares in the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 77,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,168,000 after purchasing an additional 17,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2,602.8% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 85,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,857,000 after purchasing an additional 82,300 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $262.24 on Friday. CME Group has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $267.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $250.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. Research analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.