Arax Advisory Partners Lowers Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Arax Advisory Partners cut its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 36,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,498 shares during the quarter. Arax Advisory Partners’ holdings in CME Group were worth $9,956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in CME Group by 103.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after buying an additional 121,707 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in CME Group by 1,325.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,497,000 after buying an additional 21,918 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $992,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in CME Group by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 287,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,344,000 after buying an additional 7,397 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total transaction of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,397,597.04. The trade was a 31.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 44,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,297,507 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

More CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME announced four new E-mini futures contracts tied to broad-market equity benchmarks, plus new Micro E-mini options on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100. These launches could attract more trading volume by giving investors additional, lower-cost ways to hedge and gain market exposure. CME Group to Expand Equity Index Suite with Launch of Four New E-mini Futures Contracts
• Positive Sentiment: The company also said it will expand 24/7 trading for WTI crude oil and gold, which could improve price discovery and make CME’s metals and energy products more attractive to global traders operating outside normal market hours. CME Group to Expand 24/7 Trading for WTI Crude Oil and Gold
• Positive Sentiment: CME launched Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures and is moving deeper into digital-asset derivatives, giving investors regulated exposure to major cryptocurrencies and potentially opening another growth avenue for the exchange. CME Group Launches Crypto Index Futures Tracking Bitcoin, Solana and XRP
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank slightly raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for CME, signaling stable earnings expectations rather than a major change in outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary around the CFTC’s crypto oversight has raised concerns about regulatory pressure and market criticism, which could create uncertainty for CME’s expanding crypto-related products. CFTC’s Lone Chair Selig Expands Grip Over Crypto and Prediction Markets

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on CME Group in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $305.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $316.00 to $323.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.71.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $269.53 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $244.56 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $284.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.07.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. CME Group’s payout ratio is 44.37%.

About CME Group

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.