Piper Sandler Increases CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target to $258.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) had its price target raised by Piper Sandler from $250.00 to $258.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a "hold" rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $229.53.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CME traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $227.01. 2,120,991 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,065,773. The company has a market capitalization of $81.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $232.32 and a 200 day moving average of $218.15. CME Group has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $249.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $5.80 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group's previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total transaction of $1,019,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,131,291.92. This represents a 14.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 515.2% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.