CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Raised to $269.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price objective boosted by Oppenheimer from $258.00 to $269.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target 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. Citigroup lowered 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.13.

CME Group Stock Down 1.9 %

CME stock opened at $245.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $88.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $253.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $235.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.37%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

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