CME Group Inc. $CME Stock Holdings Boosted by Capital Wealth Planning LLC

Key Points

• Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its CME Group stake by 7% in the fourth quarter, buying 176,640 more shares and bringing its total to 2.71 million shares worth about $736.2 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with CEO Terrence A. Duffy and insider Hilda Harris Piell selling shares recently; insiders have sold 44,044 shares over the last 90 days.
• CME Group reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue expectations, and it also declared a $1.30 quarterly dividend payable on June 25 for a 2.0% yield.

Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,709,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 176,640 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up 4.8% of Capital Wealth Planning LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Capital Wealth Planning LLC owned about 0.75% of CME Group worth $736,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 11.5% during the first 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 boosted its position in CME Group by 103.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 121,707 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 1,325.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,497,000 after purchasing an additional 21,918 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $992,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 287,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $79,344,000 after acquiring an additional 7,397 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,297,507. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $263.80 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $286.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.28. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $244.56 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.51, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on CME shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on CME Group from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on CME Group from $340.00 to $323.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $305.29.

Key Stories Impacting CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME Group launched Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures, a regulated cash-settled product tied to a benchmark of major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Solana, XRP and others. The new offering could attract more trading volume from investors seeking broad crypto exposure and hedging tools. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: CME Group and Morningstar announced an exclusive multi-year licensing agreement to launch derivatives based on Morningstar equity index benchmarks, opening a new product line tied to indexes that underpin more than $3 trillion in linked assets. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholders maintained CME’s Class B governance structure and rejected a bid to end those director election rights, removing a potential governance overhang and preserving the company’s current control framework. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: CME also announced its second-quarter 2026 earnings release date for July 22, which is mainly a scheduling update but keeps attention on upcoming results. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports about short interest and options activity suggest traders are watching CME closely, but those items do not yet point to a clear fundamental catalyst. Article Title

CME Group Profile

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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