CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Earns “Sector Perform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reissued by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $235.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.52% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on CME. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Redburn Atlantic cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup lowered CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.53.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $227.01 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $249.02. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $232.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $218.15.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $312,062.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock worth $1,648,071. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 188.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 515.2% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.