Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its CME Group stake by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 14,302 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 134,991 shares valued at about $36.9 million.
• Insider selling has been notable, with director Martin J. Gepsman and insider Hilda Harris Piell both selling shares; altogether, insiders sold 48,544 shares worth about $14.7 million over the last 90 days.
• CME Group reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, implying a 1.7% annual yield.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,302 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in CME Group were worth $36,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CME. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID increased its holdings in 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 197.4% in the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total value of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,999 shares in the company, valued at $7,647,194.10. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 48,544 shares of company stock valued at $14,689,807 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.29.

Trending Headlines about CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME continues to benefit from solid fundamentals, including a recent earnings beat with stronger-than-expected revenue and EPS, plus a healthy dividend that supports shareholder returns.
• Positive Sentiment: New activity in CME-linked derivatives products, including growing interest in interest-rate and crypto-related futures, suggests the exchange remains well positioned to capture trading volume and product demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary also noted CME as an alternative for investors concerned about correlation risk, which reflects the company’s role as a defensive financial market infrastructure name.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company adjourned voting on Class B proposals after a quorum shortfall at its 2026 annual meeting, a procedural issue that is unlikely to change the business outlook but may keep some attention on governance matters. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Terrence Duffy sold 35,000 shares and insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares, which can weigh on sentiment because investors often view insider selling as a cautious signal. Article Title

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $302.37 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $257.17 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The company has a market capitalization of $109.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $297.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.74.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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