Bank of America Increases CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target to $216.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target increased by Bank of America from $209.00 to $216.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $210.00 target price (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a sell rating and set a $187.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of CME Group from a neutral rating to a sell rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $217.80.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $210.94 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $214.73 and its 200 day moving average is $211.87. CME Group has a 12 month low of $175.73 and a 12 month high of $223.80.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. CME Group’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 9.67 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CME. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $959,260,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $253,563,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,589,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,072,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,575 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 31.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,858,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $972,863,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $113,772,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

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.