Barclays Boosts CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target to $228.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price objective increased by Barclays from $226.00 to $228.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on CME. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Thursday. Argus increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a sell rating and set a $187.00 price target (up from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of CME Group from a neutral rating to a sell rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $217.80.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $210.94 on Thursday. CME Group has a fifty-two week low of $175.73 and a fifty-two week high of $223.80. The company has a market capitalization of $75.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.87. 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 (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 9.67 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CME. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 966.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.