CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $264.00 to $266.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a sell rating on the stock. CME Group traded as high as $307.84 and last traded at $307.24, with a volume of 2350576 shares. The stock had previously closed at $302.27.

CME has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Argus decreased their target price on CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.59.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $809,700. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the acquisition, the director owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at $72,017,102.70. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional buy — Intermede Investment Partners disclosed a new ~$77.8M position in CME on a 13F filing, signaling meaningful institutional demand that can support the share rally. Fund Update: New $77.8M $CME stock position opened by Intermede Investment Partners Ltd
• Positive Sentiment: Product / distribution win — FlexTrade integrated CME’s FX Spot+ and EBS Market offerings into its FlexFX system, expanding CME’s distribution and potential FX flow capture. That supports revenue growth in FX products. FlexTrade Integrates CME Group’s FX Spot+ and EBS Market Offerings for Enhanced FX Trading
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation note — A Seeking Alpha piece argues CME’s fundamentals are strong but the stock looks “fully valued,” reinforcing mixed views among investors about near-term upside vs. stretched multiples. CME Group’s Strength Is Clear, But The Stock Looks Fully Valued
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares (~21.7% of his holding) for ~$224k; this is one of several recent insider sales disclosed and can be interpreted as a modest negative signal by some investors. SEC Form 4: Dennis Suskind sale
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst stance — Goldman Sachs kept a sell rating on CME while nudging its price target to $266, which reinforces downside views among some institutional investors and may cap upside despite bullish flows. Goldman Sachs adjusts price target on CME Group to $266 from $264, maintains sell rating

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CME. Jessup Wealth Management Inc increased its stake in CME Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 2.7% during the second quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its holdings in CME Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $110.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.53, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $277.46 and a 200-day moving average of $273.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.03.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

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.