Piper Sandler Issues Positive Forecast for CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Price

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $275.00 to $283.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Piper Sandler's price target indicates a potential upside of 8.21% from the stock's current price.

CME has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of CME Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $301.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $247.47.

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CME Group Stock Performance

CME traded up $3.15 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $261.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,756,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,136,648. CME Group has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $273.42. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $255.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $94.25 billion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,686,980. The trade was a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 8,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by 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.