CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) PT Lowered to $225.00 at Piper Sandler

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its target price trimmed by Piper Sandler from $235.00 to $225.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $226.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of CME Group from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $206.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a sell rating and set a $187.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $212.64.

CME Group Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:CME opened at $200.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01. CME Group has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $223.80. The company has a market cap of $72.21 billion, a PE ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $199.87 and a 200-day moving average of $207.00.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CME Group will post 9.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was 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 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 can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Terry L. Savage sold 2,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.65, for a total value of $526,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,673,946.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,290 shares of company stock valued at $11,393,700. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cambiar Investors LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 288,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,647,000 after purchasing an additional 85,548 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.1% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,080,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 1.5% during the second quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 16,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,320,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich lifted its stake in CME Group by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 7,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 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.