Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Price

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $256.00 to $257.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective suggests a potential upside of 3.69% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut 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 note on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $234.13.

CME Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of CME stock traded up $2.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $247.86. 1,316,699 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,848,600. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $253.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company's 50-day moving average price is $236.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.35.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GTS Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 186.2% during the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 3,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 6,566 shares during the last quarter. Breed s Hill Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $247,000. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 73.3% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 5,159 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 2,182 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $248,000. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 68,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,013,000 after purchasing an additional 8,876 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

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.