UPDATE: Bank Of America Reiterates On CME Group Following Management Meeting

In a report published Wednesday, Bank of America analyst Michael Carrier reiterated a Neutral rating on

, and raised the price target from $76.00 to $82.00. In the report, Bank of America noted, “We recently met with CME's CFO, James Parisi, and SMD Corporate Development and Finance (and incoming CFO), John Pietrowicz. Overall, management was upbeat on the outlook given growth opportunities from rising rates and volatility, product innovation and strategic initiatives (OTC and international), the new management structure, and capital deployment (the dividend). We view CME as well positioned for cyclical growth (rising rates, volatility, and volumes), some areas of structural growth (OTC clearing, futurization, and international markets), and an attractive dividend yield, but given the recent run in the stock/current valuation as well as the potential for increased industry wide regulations over time, we maintain our Neutral rating. Based on improving volumes, we increased our PO to $82.” CME Group closed on Tuesday at $79.75.