CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Raised to $302.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $295.00 to $302.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $264.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.47.

CME Group Stock Up 1.6%

CME Group stock opened at $302.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.09, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.27. CME Group has a 1-year low of $239.70 and a 1-year high of $302.79. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $276.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jessup Wealth Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 2.7% in the second quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More CME Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and commentary reinforced the firm’s resilient fee-based franchise — investors reacted to better-than-expected quarterly results and the company hitting a new one-year high after the report. Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank raised its price target to $316 and maintained a buy rating, giving fresh analyst support that can help momentum. Deutsche Bank PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating, highlighting CME’s defensive, fee-based franchise and structural growth drivers. Morgan Stanley Note
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC nudged its target to $302 (sector perform) — a small technical change that largely preserves prior sentiment. RBC PT Adjustment
• Positive Sentiment: Management confirmed the firm is exploring a CME-issued digital token and tokenized cash pilots (including work with Google), a strategic move that could expand 24/7 crypto/product offerings and new non-trading revenue streams. CME Token Exploration
• Negative Sentiment: CME raised initial and maintenance margins for gold and silver futures (e.g., gold margins to 9% from 8%, silver to 18% from 15%) to manage sharp volatility — measures that can damp trading volume and futures activity in the near term. Margin Hikes
• Negative Sentiment: Pelican Bay Capital reported selling CME in Q4, signaling at least some institutional trimming that could weigh on sentiment if others follow. Institutional Selling
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan still carries an underweight rating despite updating its target — a reminder there are pockets of skepticism about valuation and upside. JPMorgan Note

About CME Group

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.