Piper Sandler Trims CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Target Price to $235.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price objective decreased by Piper Sandler from $250.00 to $235.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on CME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of CME Group from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and lowered their target price for the company from $206.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a sell rating and issued a $187.00 price target (up from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a hold rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $215.82.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $193.43 on Tuesday. CME Group has a 1 year low of $180.88 and a 1 year high of $223.80. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $202.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.52.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. CME Group’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Daniel R. Glickman sold 650 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.44, for a total transaction of $130,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,821,771.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,226,934.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,290 shares of company stock worth $11,393,700. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CME. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.0% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 44,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of CME Group by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 37,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,539,000 after buying an additional 2,865 shares during the period. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $18,314,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of CME Group by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 83,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,686,000 after buying an additional 4,331 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 80.9% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by 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.