CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Rating Upgraded by TD Cowen

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) was upgraded by research analysts at TD Cowen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $305.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target suggests a potential upside of 11.71% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on CME. Barclays upped their target price on CME Group from $280.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $264.00 to $263.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price 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. Citigroup upgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.94.

CME Group Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of CME opened at $273.03 on Wednesday. CME Group has a twelve month low of $225.46 and a twelve 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 firm has a market capitalization of $98.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $273.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.78.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total transaction of $263,530.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,511.23. The trade was a 47.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caldwell Trust Co increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 84.3% in the second quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in CME Group by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CME Group

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.