CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Given “Sector Perform” Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reissued by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $269.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target suggests a potential downside of 0.64% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CME. Barclays raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.53.

CME Group Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of CME Group stock traded up $8.18 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $270.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,335,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,052,372. The company’s 50-day moving average is $251.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.71. CME Group has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $271.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $97.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. Analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CME. Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 27,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429 shares during the last quarter. Prostatis Group LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $341,000. CWC Advisors LLC. grew its stake in CME Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 2,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $679,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 64,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,968,000 after acquiring an additional 2,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 11,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.