Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates "Sector Perform" Rating for CME Group (NASDAQ:CME)

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sector perform" rating restated by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $235.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price target indicates a potential upside of 4.07% from the stock's current price.

CME has been the topic of several other reports. Redburn Atlantic lowered CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $229.00.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded down $6.68 during trading on Monday, hitting $225.82. 2,297,566 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,047,338. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $232.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $217.72. CME Group has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $249.02. The company has a market cap of $81.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

CME Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $313,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 13.1% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 515.2% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 1,664.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,214,000 after purchasing an additional 10,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Certuity LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 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.