CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Given New $260.00 Price Target at UBS Group

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target decreased by UBS Group from $310.00 to $260.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays dropped their target price on CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.00.

CME Group Price Performance

CME opened at $238.81 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $267.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $284.36. The company has a market cap of $86.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.25. 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 has a 12-month low of $218.31 and a 12-month high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that CME Group will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 260,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,147,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.3% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 26.8% in the third quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC grew its position in CME Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.