Barclays Cuts CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target to $343.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $344.00 to $343.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $309.65.

CME Group Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of CME opened at $296.90 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CME Group has a 12-month low of $251.90 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $306.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.26.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 46.59%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total transaction of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,397,597.04. This trade represents a 31.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,539 shares of company stock worth $2,713,821. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CME. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 103.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 121,707 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 1,325.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,497,000 after purchasing an additional 21,918 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth about $992,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 2.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 287,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,344,000 after purchasing an additional 7,397 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

More CME Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME announced it will launch options on Eris SOFR Swap futures on June 16 (pending review), expanding its interest-rate risk management products — a move that can drive trading volumes and fee revenue in rates markets. CME Group to Launch Eris SOFR Swap Options on June 16
• Positive Sentiment: CME is expanding its Equity Index Dividend suite with mid-curve options and new quarterly futures (effective May 11, pending review) — broadening product offering for dividend hedging and likely attracting institutional flow. CME Group to Expand Equity Index Dividend Suite
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $329 and kept an overweight rating — a visible vote of confidence that can improve sentiment and attract buyers given the ~10% implied upside from current levels. Piper Sandler Adjusts Price Target on CME Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings previews from Zacks flag CME as likely to post another beat based on current indicators — supportive for fundamentals but only a preview until actual results are reported. CME Group (CME) Earnings Expected to Grow
• Neutral Sentiment: News that FanDuel is pursuing prediction-market contracts without CME involvement this time is a watch item for product competition but not directly material to CME’s core derivatives franchise. FanDuel Registers New Interest In Prediction Market Contracts
• Negative Sentiment: Reports say the CFTC has launched a probe into suspicious oil futures trading on CME and ICE — regulatory scrutiny could pose operational, compliance and reputational risks if investigations find problems. CFTC launches probe into suspicious oil futures trading on CME, ICE – report
• Negative Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn and Barclays lowered their expectations for CME’s stock price — these analyst downgrades can weigh on sentiment and amplify short-term selling pressure even if fundamentals remain intact. Rothschild & Co Redburn Lowers Expectations Barclays Lowers Expectations

About CME Group

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.