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

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $250.00 to $258.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price indicates a potential upside of 14.25% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.53.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $225.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $232.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $217.92. CME Group has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $249.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total value of $226,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,279.44. The trade was a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,652,298. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CME. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 188.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

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.