CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Cut to $270.00 by Analysts at Barclays

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $316.00 to $270.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on CME. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on CME Group from $323.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.29.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $239.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $263.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $283.49. CME Group has a 12-month low of $218.31 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that CME Group will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 44.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the acquisition, the director owned 260,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. The trade was a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 2,075.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership bought a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting CME Group

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME announced Treasury LINK, a new tool designed to simplify U.S. Treasury spread trading and lower the cost/complexity of popular basis-trade strategies. That could support trading volumes and strengthen CME’s derivatives franchise. CME Group to launch Treasury LINK for enhanced US Treasury spread trading
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also highlighted CME’s product innovation in Treasuries and agriculture markets, which may help diversify revenue and keep the exchange relevant in active trading categories. CME Group’s New Agriculture Index Delivers Unified Price Benchmark for the Global Farm Economy
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays cut its price target on CME to $270 from $316 and kept an equal weight rating. The new target still implies upside, but the reduction may reflect a more cautious view on near-term growth. Barclays Cuts CME Group Price Target to $270
• Negative Sentiment: The biggest drag is regulatory: the CFTC moved to block CME’s attempt to fast-track 24/7 crude oil futures trading, limiting a potential expansion that could have broadened customer access and trading activity. CFTC to block CME’s plan for 24/7 crude oil futures trading
• Negative Sentiment: Separate commentary said competition and weaker trading volumes are weighing on CME Group, reinforcing concerns that core market activity may be softer than investors want. Competition And Weaker Trading Volumes Are Weighing On CME Group (CME) Stock

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.