Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Boosts CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target to $226.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price objective hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $222.00 to $226.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

CME has been the subject of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a hold rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays raised their target price on CME Group from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a sell rating and issued a $187.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Argus raised their target price on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $217.80.

CME Group Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.87. The stock has a market cap of $75.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.49.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that CME Group will post 9.67 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. 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. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth $298,000. CX Institutional increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 590.1% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 14,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,965,000 after purchasing an additional 12,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth $462,000. Institutional investors 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.