CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Earns “Sector Perform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $235.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 3.92% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on CME Group from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on CME Group from $228.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.07.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $226.14 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.70, a P/E/G ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $218.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $230.36.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results 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 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total value of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other CME Group news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Sunday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CME. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 4.3% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 7,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Essex LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.3% in the first quarter. Essex LLC now owns 1,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 10.2% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.