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

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $295.00 to $302.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 1.98% from the stock’s current price.

CME has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on CME Group from $310.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $264.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $295.59.

CME Group Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ CME traded up $1.51 during trading on Thursday, hitting $296.13. 964,302 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,104,041. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $276.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $272.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.79 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.27. CME Group has a 12-month low of $239.70 and a 12-month high of $302.20.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.52 earnings per share. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 acquired at an average price of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter valued at $1,571,447,000. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,006,932,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $636,487,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 107.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,502,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $406,029,000 after buying an additional 777,571 shares during the period. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth about $164,648,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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: Q4 results beat expectations — EPS of $2.77 and revenue of ~$1.65B topped consensus, aided by record average daily volume (ADV) and higher clearing fees; management also reported record annual revenue for 2025, reinforcing the company’s durable fee franchise. CME Group Q4 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management announced exploration of a CME-issued digital token and a pilot of tokenized cash with Google to enable faster collateral movement and potential 24/7 crypto trading — this could expand addressable markets (crypto/securities clearing) and improve settlement efficiency if executed. CME CEO Duffy says exchange is exploring issuing its own token
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains constructive: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy/Overweight view, arguing CME’s defensive fee mix and underappreciated structural growth justify upside — analyst backing can amplify positive investor reaction after the beat. CME Group: Resilient Fee-Based Franchise … Justifies Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/volume tailwinds: Reuters and other outlets flagged higher hedging demand and elevated trading activity that lifted profit and volumes — supports sustainability of revenue growth in the near term. Derivatives exchange CME’s profit rises as hedging demand lifts trading volume
• Neutral Sentiment: Company guidance/initiatives include modest fee adjustments (targeting ~1–1.5% revenue lift) and expansion into 24/7 crypto and securities clearing — incremental revenue but execution/timing remain to be proven. CME Group targets 1-1.5% revenue lift through new fee adjustments …
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage and price targets are mixed but slightly biased upward (median target ~ $304.5); market reaction may be guided more by execution on token pilots and volume trends than by targets alone. CME GROUP Releases Q4 2025 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales were reported (multiple executives have sold shares in recent months), which some investors view as a cautionary signal even though institutional ownership changes are mixed. CME GROUP Releases Q4 2025 Earnings (insider & holdings detail)
• Negative Sentiment: Token initiative carries execution and regulatory risk — timeline, design (centralized vs. decentralized), and regulator acceptance are uncertain and could create volatility if progress stalls. CME CEO Duffy says exchange is exploring issuing its own token

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.