CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Given New $263.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target reduced by The Goldman Sachs Group from $264.00 to $263.00 in a research note published on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a sell rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CME. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. UBS Group decreased their target price on CME Group from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on CME Group from $309.00 to $307.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.18.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $272.02 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $271.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $272.85. CME Group has a 12 month low of $224.62 and a 12 month high of $290.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.28.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 58.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $265.19 per share, with a total value of $69,479.78. Following the acquisition, the director owned 258,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,540,742.21. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total value of $98,475.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,470,463.64. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,147 shares of company stock valued at $562,079. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CME. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 56,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,252,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in shares of CME Group by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 236,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,943,000 after purchasing an additional 8,847 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,837,000. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $14,950,000. 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.