Zacks Research Has Positive Outlook of CME Group Q4 Earnings

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research increased their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for CME Group in a research note issued on Wednesday, November 13th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $2.47 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.31. The consensus estimate for CME Group’s current full-year earnings is $10.23 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for CME Group’s Q1 2025 earnings at $2.57 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.50 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.57 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $10.19 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.75 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.71 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.44 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $10.62 EPS.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on CME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on CME Group from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $221.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.47.

CME Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $225.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.55. CME Group has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $230.36. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $222.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.26.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,809,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,403,557,000 after buying an additional 3,069,806 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in CME Group by 11.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,283,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,038,676,000 after acquiring an additional 537,758 shares during the period. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 4,009,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $863,112,000 after acquiring an additional 43,293 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of CME Group by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,029,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $595,530,000 after acquiring an additional 94,302 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,835,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,371,000 after purchasing an additional 176,004 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,932,706.13. This represents a 12.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

About CME Group

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.