CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Raised to $305.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) had its target price lifted by UBS Group from $290.00 to $305.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider's stock.

CME has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Erste Group Bank raised CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on CME Group from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $256.80.

CME Group Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $1.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $267.92. 1,778,531 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,156,143. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.71, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.43. The business's fifty day moving average price is $258.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $242.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. CME Group has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $273.42.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.30%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This trade represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,076 shares of company stock worth $7,399,696 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 50.0% in 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. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 612.5% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is 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.