CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Given New $256.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $260.00 to $256.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CME. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME opened at $229.45 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $232.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $219.11.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $5.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total value of $1,019,880.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,131,291.92. The trade was a 14.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 120.3% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 52.4% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 130 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.