CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $304.0588.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on CME Group from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 43,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,317,117.55. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $809,700. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 8,539 shares of company stock worth $2,713,821 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caldwell Trust Co grew its position in CME Group by 116.3% in the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $310.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $112.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $299.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $280.13. CME Group has a fifty-two week low of $248.53 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

Key Headlines Impacting CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs published a bullish forecast for CME, calling for strong price appreciation — this likely supported upside sentiment among investors. Goldman Sachs Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for CME Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains mixed but constructive overall: multiple firms maintain buy/overweight stances and some price targets (e.g., TD Cowen, Morgan Stanley) are above the current trading level, while others (e.g., JP Morgan) are more conservative — this creates a balanced catalyst set for price discovery. Quiver Quant – Analyst ratings & price targets summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data for March shows zero shares shorted (days-to-cover 0.0), but the figures look erroneous/artefactual (NaN and repeated 0 values). As reported, this offers no reliable signal on bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CME’s Senior MD & General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares (~$1.1M) on March 17, reducing his stake by ~31%. Market participants often view sizable insider sales as a short-term negative signal. SEC Form 4 – Marcus sale
• Negative Sentiment: Aggregated insider activity over recent months shows more sales than buys (multiple senior executives have sold shares), which can weigh on sentiment if investors interpret this as executives taking gains rather than signaling long-term conviction. Quiver Quant – Insider activity

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.