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 Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $269.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 0.64% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America increased their price target on CME Group from $200.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.53.

CME Group Trading Up 3.1 %

NASDAQ:CME traded up $8.18 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $270.72. 1,335,195 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,052,372. The firm has a market cap of $97.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.71. CME Group has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $271.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. As a group, analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. The trade was a 15.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cullen Investment Group LTD. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 27,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,291,000 after buying an additional 1,429 shares during the last quarter. Prostatis Group LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $341,000. CWC Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 2,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 64,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,686 shares during the period. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 11,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.