CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Raised to $226.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its target price upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $222.00 to $226.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on CME. Argus lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a sell rating and set a $187.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of CME Group from a neutral rating to a sell rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $210.00 target price (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $217.80.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $210.94 on Thursday. CME Group has a 12-month low of $175.73 and a 12-month high of $223.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 0.49. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $214.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.83.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. CME Group’s payout ratio is 52.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CME. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 966.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

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.