CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Given New $302.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $295.00 to $302.00 in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 1.98% from the company’s previous close.

CME has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on CME Group from $307.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.59.

CME Group Stock Up 0.5%

CME stock traded up $1.51 during trading on Thursday, reaching $296.13. 964,302 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,104,041. CME Group has a 12 month low of $239.70 and a 12 month high of $302.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $276.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $272.67. The company has a market capitalization of $106.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.27. 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 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. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $278.37 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CME. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,895,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,802,366,000 after buying an additional 588,509 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 319,899 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,571,447,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,812,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,300,450,000 after acquiring an additional 130,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in CME Group by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,833,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,056,476,000 after purchasing an additional 238,522 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group News Summary

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.