CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Price Target Raised to $344.00 at Barclays

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its target price raised by Barclays from $312.00 to $344.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.59.

CME Group Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of CME opened at $302.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $108.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.26. CME Group has a 12-month low of $248.53 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $306.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $284.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. CME Group’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 43,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,317,117.55. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 156,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,867,000 after buying an additional 22,286 shares in the last quarter. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of CME Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 38,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,646,000 after buying an additional 1,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winthrop Partners WNY LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $2,280,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record trading volumes: CME reported Q1 international average daily volume (ADV) of a record 11.4M contracts (up 30% y/y), with all major product categories hitting highs — a direct revenue driver for the exchange. PR Newswire: Q1 2026 ADV
• Positive Sentiment: Crypto expansion: CME is launching Avalanche (AVAX) and Sui (SUI) futures on May 4 and pushing toward 24/7 crypto trading — moves that broaden product mix, attract institutional flow, and create new fee pools. Multiple outlets note this could reshape CME’s derivatives moat. Yahoo Finance: 24/7 Crypto Push
• Positive Sentiment: Near-term crypto momentum: Rising TVL for SUI and market rallies ahead of CME listings suggest initial demand for the new contracts, which could boost volumes at launch. Coingape: SUI TVL
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Barclays raised its price target to $344 (equal weight) — signaling upside vs. the current quote — and some brokers express continuing earnings optimism. MarketScreener: Barclays PT
• Neutral Sentiment: New coverage: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage with “market perform” and a $305 target — a largely neutral signal that may cap near-term enthusiasm. Benzinga: KBW Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: CME market data in focus: CME’s own feeds showed a shift in Fed-cut odds and are being used widely by markets — underscoring CME’s franchise but also tying sentiment to macro-driven volume swings. CNBC: Fed odds via CME
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term volatility and block trades: Large pre-news block trades in crude futures and a volatile market reaction to geopolitical developments increased intraday volatility — a factor that can prompt profit-taking and wider share swings even as volumes rise. QuiverQuant: Oil futures block sale

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.