CME Group Inc. $CME Stock Holdings Boosted by First Washington CORP

Key Points

• First Washington CORP increased its CME Group stake by 47.6% in the first quarter, buying 8,713 shares and bringing its total holdings to 27,016 shares valued at about $7.98 million.
• CME Group recently beat Q2 expectations, reporting EPS of $2.99 versus $2.91 expected and revenue of $1.71 billion versus $1.68 billion expected, with management calling the first half of 2026 the strongest in company history.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has an average Hold rating and a consensus target price of $291.81, even as some firms raised targets and others kept underweight or sell views.

First Washington CORP increased its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 47.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,016 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,713 shares during the period. CME Group makes up 2.3% of First Washington CORP's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. First Washington CORP's holdings in CME Group were worth $7,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CME. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in 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. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,147,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its position in CME Group by 4.3% in 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 during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Endowment Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 895 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target 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. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $316.00 to $270.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $291.81.

CME Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME Group beat Q2 estimates, reporting $2.99 EPS versus $2.91 expected and revenue of about $1.71 billion versus $1.68 billion expected, supporting the stock. CME profit tops estimates, CEO says 'perps' chatter overshadows results
• Positive Sentiment: Management said the first half of 2026 was the strongest in company history for revenue, adjusted operating income, adjusted net income, and adjusted diluted EPS, which likely boosted investor confidence. CME Group jumps after Q2 earnings beat and strong trading activity
• Positive Sentiment: Record market data revenue and strong trading volumes suggested core business momentum remains healthy, another bullish catalyst for the stock. CME Group jumps after Q2 earnings beat and strong trading activity
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Hold rating with a $260 target, signaling solid fundamentals but limited upside from current levels. Neutral Stance Reiterated on CME as Solid Fundamentals Meet Valuation Limits; $260 Price Target Maintained
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan kept an Underweight rating and BofA maintained an Underperform stance, both implying analysts still see downside risk despite the earnings beat. Benzinga report on JPMorgan price target change Benzinga report on Bank of America price target change

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $254.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company's 50-day moving average price is $255.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $281.41. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $218.31 and a 52 week high of $329.16. The stock has a market cap of $92.16 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.25.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 325 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. This represents a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Company 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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