CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Piper Sandler Analyst Says

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $250.00 to $258.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target points to a potential upside of 12.52% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on CME. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen started 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 raised their price target on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.53.

CME Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $229.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $218.22. CME Group has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $82.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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 owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 515.2% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

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.