CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Sold by Arizona State Retirement System

Key Points

• Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its stake in CME by 3.8%, selling 3,999 shares and leaving 101,238 shares valued at about $27.65 million.
• CME reported a record Q1 — revenue roughly $1.88–1.9B, EPS $3.36 (vs. $3.11 consensus) and average daily contracts up ~22% — but the stock reaction was mixed and analysts remain split, with an average price target near $306.35.
• Insiders sold 8,539 shares (~$2.71M) in the last quarter, including two director sales, while institutional investors hold about 87.75% of the stock and insiders own just 0.30%.

Arizona State Retirement System lowered its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,999 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in CME Group were worth $27,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. West Family Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1248 Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 26.8% during the third quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company posted record Q1 revenue and volumes — revenue roughly $1.9B, operating income about $1.3B and average daily contracts up ~22% year/year, showing strong demand for hedging and trading products. CME Group Inc. Reports Record Revenue, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings Per Share for Q1 2026
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen trimmed its price target to $323 but kept a Buy rating, signaling continued analyst confidence in upside over the medium term. TD Cowen adjusts price target on CME to $323 from $340; maintains Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its target slightly to $353 but kept an Overweight rating, implying meaningful upside remains according to that shop. Morgan Stanley trims price target on CME Group to $353 from $362; keeps Overweight rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 results are mixed versus consensus: management reported record revenue and volume, but EPS and some revenue figures were close to or slightly off certain Street estimates — creating ambiguity on whether the beat is durable. CME Group Inc (CME) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Record-Breaking Volume and Revenue Surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary highlights that rising market risk is driving demand for hedging products — a structural tailwind for CME’s volumes, but investors are focused on sustainability of elevated activity. Increasing market risk is the new normal on Wall Street, and CME is loving it
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs cut its price target to $267 and kept a Sell rating, signaling downside risk and adding downward pressure on sentiment. Goldman Sachs adjusts price target on CME Group to $267 from $275; maintains Sell rating
• Negative Sentiment: Stocks sold off intra‑day despite record operational metrics — several pieces flagged a “double miss” vs some expectations and noted the share reaction was negative. CME stock under pressure after double miss
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/commentary pieces also warned the stock still looks expensive on some multiples, which can cap upside despite strong volume trends. CME Group Q1 Earnings Show Strength, But The Stock Still Looks Expensive

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $224,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,699 shares of the company's stock, valued at $809,700. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,317,117.55. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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 report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CME Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $267.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $306.35.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $285.47 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $304.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.91. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.17 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The firm has a market cap of $102.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company 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 company posted $2.80 EPS. CME Group's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

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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