CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Acquired by Focus Partners Wealth

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its CME Group stake by 57.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 366,812 shares worth about $99.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds now own 87.75% of CME stock.
• CME is expanding its product lineup with new E-mini futures, more 24/7 trading for WTI crude oil and gold, and crypto index futures. These moves are aimed at attracting more trading volume and broadening its appeal to global and digital-asset traders.
• The company reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $3.36 beating estimates and revenue rising 14.5% year over year, while also declaring a $1.30 quarterly dividend. Analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating and a target price of $305.71.

Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 57.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 366,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 133,464 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth owned about 0.10% of CME Group worth $99,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID raised its position in shares of CME Group by 191.9% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of CME Group by 1,250.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 108 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 44,044 shares of company stock worth $13,297,507 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting CME Group

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. MarketBeat report on CME estimate update
• 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

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Erste Group Bank cut shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CME Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $305.71.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $269.53 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $284.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.16. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $244.56 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $97.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.21.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

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

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