CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $313.29

Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $313.29.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $315.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised CME Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on CME Group from $337.00 to $359.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. CLSA set a $367.00 price target on CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on CME Group from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $294.04 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $279.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $279.65. CME Group has a twelve month low of $218.31 and a twelve month high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 63.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 12.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 42.66%.

Key Stories Impacting CME Group

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record futures volume is improving sentiment toward CME Group. The company recently reported record third-quarter revenue of approximately $1.74 billion and record average daily volume of 29.4 million contracts, while October activity was tracking at the strongest October level on record. The combination of elevated market volatility and strong trading activity makes CME’s earnings outlook more compelling. CME Group Looks Better Valued As Record Real Futures Volume Lifts Sentiment
• Positive Sentiment: CME Group’s Brazilian real futures set a record for daily volume following Brazil’s election, highlighting demand for the company’s currency products during periods of political and foreign-exchange volatility. CME Group Brazilian Real Futures Set New Daily Volume Record Following Election
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded CME to a Rank #2, or “Buy,” citing improving earnings prospects. Analysts have also raised several price targets, with the broader analyst consensus remaining above the recent trading level. CME Upgraded to Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: The Federal Reserve’s rate decision is being closely monitored, with markets expecting rates to remain unchanged. Stable rates may reduce uncertainty, but the impact on CME depends on how interest-rate and currency trading volumes respond. US Fed Opens Two-Day Meeting
• Negative Sentiment: After a strong run-up, investors may be taking profits or reassessing CME’s valuation despite its solid earnings beat and record volumes. This could limit near-term upside if results do not continue to exceed elevated expectations. CME Group Slides as Investors Digest Recent Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Sunil Cutinho sold 5,000 CME shares for approximately $1.49 million, reducing his direct stake by nearly 20%. The sale is a modest sentiment negative, though it does not by itself signal deteriorating fundamentals. CME Group Insider Sale

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard bought 293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $268.76 per share, for a total transaction of $78,746.68. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 263,289 shares in the company, valued at $70,761,551.64. This trade represents a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.70, for a total transaction of $1,493,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,985,051.90. This represents a 19.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 20,900 shares of company stock worth $5,871,155 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CME. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $612,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. bought a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,513,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,671,000. Haverford Trust Co purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,818,000. Finally, Bowie Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $22,991,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that provide trading, clearing and settlement services for futures and options contracts. Its products cover major asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy and metals. The company also provides market data, benchmark information and related services used by financial institutions, corporations, producers, investors and other market participants.

CME Group’s exchange portfolio includes CME, the Chicago Board of Trade, the New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX.