CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Given New $263.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target boosted by Morgan Stanley from $256.00 to $263.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 5.91% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.13.

CME Group Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of CME stock opened at $248.32 on Wednesday. CME Group has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $253.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $89.48 billion, a PE ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $236.87 and a 200-day moving average of $227.00.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.45 EPS for the current year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, 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 at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 9.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,309,000 after buying an additional 4,354 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in shares of CME Group by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 1,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 197,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,594,000 after purchasing an additional 24,643 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 141.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 5,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leo Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth $260,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.