Zacks Research Brokers Lift Earnings Estimates for CME Group

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) – Analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q2 2025 earnings estimates for CME Group in a report issued on Wednesday, March 5th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $2.61 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.50. The consensus estimate for CME Group’s current full-year earnings is $10.49 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for CME Group’s Q3 2025 earnings at $2.69 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $10.40 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.72 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.55 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $10.93 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $11.58 EPS.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on CME. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.50.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $254.04 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.27, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $258.78.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,107,389,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 89.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,923,047,000 after purchasing an additional 3,921,278 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth $871,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 70.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $544,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $565,671,000 after buying an additional 996,498 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,774,211.62. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,076 shares of company stock worth $4,271,496. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.71%.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.