CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Raised to $275.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $266.00 to $275.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “sell” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 11.69% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.06.

CME Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of CME stock opened at $311.40 on Monday. CME Group has a 1 year low of $248.53 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business’s fifty day moving average is $295.80 and its 200-day moving average is $279.06. The stock has a market cap of $112.29 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.24.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total value of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,999 shares in the company, valued at $7,647,194.10. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,248 shares of company stock valued at $1,616,700. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caldwell Trust Co increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 116.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.