CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Piper Sandler Analyst Says

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $313.00 to $329.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.17% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $305.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $328.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $309.65.

CME Group Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ CME opened at $295.94 on Wednesday. CME Group has a one year low of $251.90 and a one year high of $329.16. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $306.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $285.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.26.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 43,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,317,117.55. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 8,539 shares of company stock worth $2,713,821 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caldwell Trust Co increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 116.3% in the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in CME Group in the third quarter worth $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

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.