Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target to $257.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price objective increased by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $256.00 to $257.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective points to a potential upside of 3.67% from the stock’s previous close.

CME has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $234.13.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME traded down $2.21 on Friday, reaching $247.91. 426,062 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,831,759. CME Group has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $253.53. The company has a market cap of $89.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $235.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 188.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.