CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank of Canada Analyst Says

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $235.00 to $269.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on CME. Oppenheimer upped their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. 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 report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.07.

CME Group Price Performance

CME opened at $250.11 on Thursday. CME Group has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $253.53. The firm has a market cap of $90.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.08.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. Equities research analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

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.