What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for CME Group Q4 Earnings?

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) – Zacks Research lifted their Q4 2024 earnings estimates for CME Group in a research report issued on Wednesday, November 13th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $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 has been the topic of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $221.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $219.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.47.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $223.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.45 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $230.36.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 515.2% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other news, CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick sold 754 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Sunday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $163,610.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,504.39. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 7,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.59, for a total value of $1,629,381.87. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 55,607 shares in the company, valued at $11,932,706.13. This represents a 12.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,621 shares of company stock valued at $3,441,063 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. CME Group’s dividend 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.