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

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target upped by Piper Sandler from $240.00 to $250.00 in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock 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 set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.73.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $225.36 on Monday. CME Group has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $230.36. The stock has a market cap of $81.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.64, a PEG ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $220.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.33%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other CME Group news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,652,298. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total transaction of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,932,706.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,221 shares of company stock valued at $3,351,895. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the first quarter worth $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 66.1% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is 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.