CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Receives “Market Perform” Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reissued by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $226.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price points to a potential upside of 15.25% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Argus upped their price target on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays upped their price target on CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.90.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded down $0.98 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $196.10. The company had a trading volume of 874,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,916,365. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $204.50 and its 200 day moving average is $208.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.52. CME Group has a twelve month low of $180.11 and a twelve month high of $223.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group will post 9.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total transaction of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 7,140 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.35, for a total value of $1,501,899.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,256 shares in the company, valued at $6,153,999.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,290 shares of company stock worth $11,393,700. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in CME Group by 161.2% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 10,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,084,000 after buying an additional 6,542 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank increased its position in shares of CME Group by 11.4% during the second quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 8,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,584,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 34.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $639,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the period. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $833,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company Profile

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.