The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Stock

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its target price raised by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $266.00 to $275.00 in a report released on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “sell” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 12.23% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on CME. Barclays lifted 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. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.06.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $313.33 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $297.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $279.72. The firm has a market cap of $112.99 billion, a PE ratio of 28.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group has a 12-month low of $248.53 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at $809,700. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total transaction of $1,300,530.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 43,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,317,117.55. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 5,248 shares of company stock valued at $1,616,700 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CME. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in CME Group by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 156,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,867,000 after purchasing an additional 22,286 shares during the period. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 38,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,646,000 after buying an additional 1,324 shares in the last quarter. Winthrop Partners WNY LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,280,000. Finally, Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,166,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company Profile

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.