CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Receives $292.18 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $292.1765.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $307.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on CME Group from $310.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $264.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on CME Group from $282.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total transaction of $263,530.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at $287,511.23. This represents a 47.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amundi boosted its stake in CME Group by 24.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,987,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $548,150,000 after acquiring an additional 385,225 shares during the last quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 86.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 29,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,896,000 after purchasing an additional 13,512 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 85.2% in the 3rd quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 3,919 shares during the period. Victory Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 310.2% in the second quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 3,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 583.8% during the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 13,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,601,000 after purchasing an additional 11,378 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $284.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $274.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.98. CME Group has a 1 year low of $232.32 and a 1 year high of $290.79. The company has a market capitalization of $102.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.27.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.45%.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.