CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Earns “Buy” Rating from TD Cowen

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at TD Cowen in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $292.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. TD Cowen’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.60% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on CME. UBS Group reduced their target price on CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $324.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.07.

CME Group Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $264.00. 554,706 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,556,004. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $269.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.89. CME Group has a 12 month low of $218.31 and a 12 month high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that CME Group will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total value of $4,116,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,630 shares in the company, valued at $11,150,497.20. This trade represents a 26.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total value of $140,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,450.76. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,749,965,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in CME Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,144,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,408,747,000 after acquiring an additional 56,725 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in CME Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,924,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,344,776,000 after acquiring an additional 134,242 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 39.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,019,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,187,290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,197,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,146,593,000 after purchasing an additional 87,411 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that provide trading, clearing and settlement services for a broad range of financial and commodity products. Its exchange platforms enable participants to manage risk, discover prices and gain exposure to asset classes including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, metals, agricultural commodities and digital assets.

The company’s principal marketplaces include CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX. Products are offered through futures and options contracts, with electronic trading available through CME Globex as well as exchange-based and privately negotiated transactions.