The Goldman Sachs Group Raises CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target to $275.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $266.00 to $275.00 in a report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “sell” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price indicates a potential downside of 11.69% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.06.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $311.40 on Monday. CME Group has a 12-month low of $248.53 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $295.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $279.06. The firm has a market cap of $112.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.24.

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, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 $13,317,117.55. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 5,248 shares of company stock worth $1,616,700 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Caldwell Trust Co grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 116.3% during the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership bought a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.