CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Cut to $264.00 by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price objective lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $265.00 to $264.00 in a report published on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a sell rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upgraded CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $290.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Argus reduced their price target on CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on CME Group from $320.00 to $319.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup raised shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.82.

CME Group Stock Down 1.0%

CME Group stock traded down $2.64 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $272.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,673,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,080,823. CME Group has a fifty-two week low of $227.89 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $274.12 and its 200-day moving average is $271.81.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,511.23. The trade was a 47.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $1,571,447,000. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,006,932,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $636,487,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in CME Group by 107.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,502,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $406,029,000 after acquiring an additional 777,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $164,648,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME plans to list futures on Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK) and Stellar (XLM) on Feb. 9 (pending approval), including both standard and micro contract sizes — broadening its regulated crypto derivatives suite and targeting rising investor demand for altcoin exposure. Cointelegraph: CME Group plans launch of Cardano, Chainlink and Stellar futures
• Positive Sentiment: CME issued a formal press release announcing the altcoin futures expansion, reinforcing management’s push to capture more digital-asset trading volume and fees across both institutional and retail segments. PR Newswire: CME Group to Expand Crypto Derivatives Suite
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen upgraded CME from Hold to Buy and raised its price target to $305, signaling confidence in CME’s revenue mix and product pipeline (positive analyst support). MSN: TD Cowen upgrades CME Group
• Positive Sentiment: CME is launching a smaller silver futures contract to tap surging retail interest in silver — a move that could increase trading volumes and fee income in metals. Bitcoin.com: Silver Gets a Major Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target slightly (from $320 to $319) but kept an Overweight rating, a modest tweak that maintains institutional support but signals little change to the long-term thesis. The Fly: Morgan Stanley price target change
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts expect single-digit bottom-line growth for Q4; the upcoming earnings release will be a near-term catalyst as investors watch revenue mix (crypto, metals, rates) and trading volumes. Barchart: What to expect from CME Group’s next earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: CME tightened margin calculations in the silver market, linking requirements more closely to price — a risk control move that could damp speculative volume and near-term trading activity in precious metals. Benzinga: CME changes margin calculation for silver
• Negative Sentiment: Despite product launches and upgrades, muted trading volume and broader market pressures appear to be weighing on the stock today — suggesting investors are awaiting concrete volume/fee lifts or the upcoming quarterly results before bidding the shares higher. No external link

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.