CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Given New $228.00 Price Target at Barclays

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target hoisted by Barclays from $226.00 to $228.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. 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 report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a hold rating and set a $210.00 price objective (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered CME Group from a neutral rating to a sell rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $217.80.

CME Group Price Performance

CME opened at $210.94 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $214.73 and a 200-day moving average of $211.87. The firm 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. CME Group has a 12-month low of $175.73 and a 12-month high of $223.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group will post 9.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,823,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,074,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of CME Group by 4.3% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,118,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $223,867,000 after purchasing an additional 46,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,986,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.