Citigroup Increases CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target to $250.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Citigroup from $240.00 to $250.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.29% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $213.77.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $224.63. 1,014,829 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,957,318. The stock has a market cap of $80.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $211.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.59. CME Group has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $226.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that CME Group will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 515.2% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Company Profile

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.