The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Price

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its target price upped by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $263.00 to $264.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “sell” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 4.24% from the stock’s previous close.

CME has been the topic of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $287.71.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $275.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $99.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.38. CME Group has a 52-week low of $224.62 and a 52-week high of $290.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $269.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.57.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total transaction of $263,530.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at $287,511.23. This trade represents a 47.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $102,704.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,056,962. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 2,147 shares of company stock worth $562,079 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CME. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 206.9% in the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 89 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co lifted its holdings in CME Group by 116.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 84.3% during the 2nd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth $28,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.