CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) PT Raised to $226.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its target price upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $222.00 to $226.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CME. Argus boosted their price target on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on CME Group from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a sell rating and issued a $187.00 price target (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a hold rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down previously from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $217.80.

CME Group Trading Down 0.8 %

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

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 56.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group will post 9.67 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. 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 large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CME. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth $25,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 966.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 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.