Morgan Stanley Cuts CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target to $319.00

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $320.00 to $319.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Citigroup upgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Argus lowered their target price on CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price target on CME Group from $307.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.82.

CME Group Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $279.44 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $274.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.08, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.27. CME Group has a 1 year low of $230.19 and a 1 year high of $290.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total transaction of $263,530.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at $287,511.23. This represents a 47.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,307,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,539,618,000 after acquiring an additional 130,698 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in CME Group by 3.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,178,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,524,271,000 after purchasing an additional 319,899 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth $1,571,447,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 2.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,812,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,300,450,000 after purchasing an additional 130,848 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in CME Group by 6.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,833,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,056,476,000 after purchasing an additional 238,522 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME plans to add Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK) and Stellar (XLM) futures — standard and micro contracts — boosting crypto product breadth and capital‑efficient tools for clients; listing targeted for Feb. 9 pending review, which could lift futures trading volumes and fee revenue. CME Group Expands Crypto Futures With Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen upgraded CME to “Buy”, signaling constructive analyst sentiment that supports upside and likely helped investor confidence. TD Cowen Upgrades CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) to “Buy”
• Positive Sentiment: CME is introducing a new, smaller silver futures contract to capture surging retail interest in silver — a product move that can broaden participation and boost notional volumes in metals. Silver Gets a Major Upgrade: CME to Launch New Futures as Retail Demand Hits Record Levels
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies trimmed its price target slightly (from $304 to $302) but kept a “Buy” rating — modestly lowering upside but still supportive. Jefferies Adjusts Price Target on CME Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut its price target by $1 to $319 while retaining an “Overweight” rating — a slight tweak that keeps a bullish stance but marginally lowers modeled upside. Morgan Stanley Lowers CME Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst previews and coverage notes (e.g., “Here’s What to Expect From CME Group’s Next Earnings Report”) keep focus on volumes/fee trends and macro volatility — useful context but not immediate catalysts. Here’s What to Expect From CME Group’s Next Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs nudged its target slightly lower (from $265 to $264) and maintains a “Sell” rating — a visible negative outlier that can weigh on sentiment among more cautious investors. Goldman Sachs Adjusts CME Group Price Target

CME Group Company Profile

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.