CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Raised to $269.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $235.00 to $269.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $234.07.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5 %

CME stock opened at $250.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $253.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $235.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.08.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. Equities analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

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.