KKM Financial LLC Increases Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• KKM Financial LLC increased its stake by 24.3% in CME Group to 17,748 shares worth $4.795M, while institutional ownership overall stands at 87.75% and other firms (e.g., Holocene, Gotham, Fayez Sarofim) also materially adjusted positions.
• Several analysts raised price targets recently (Morgan Stanley to $340, Rothschild & Co Redburn to $347, TD Cowen to $328), but the consensus rating remains an average "Hold" with a $303.53 average price target.
• CME posted a slight quarterly beat (EPS $2.77 vs. $2.75; revenue $1.65B, +8.1% YoY) and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 ($5.20 annual, ~1.7% yield), though insiders have made notable sales in recent months.

KKM Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 24.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,468 shares during the quarter. CME Group makes up about 1.5% of KKM Financial LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. KKM Financial LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $4,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 105.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 10,534 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,846,000 after buying an additional 5,413 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in CME Group in the third quarter valued at $72,570,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 41.0% in the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 173,236 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,807,000 after acquiring an additional 50,402 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 1,249,296 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $337,547,000 after purchasing an additional 7,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of CME Group by 13.0% during the third quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 233,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,048,000 after purchasing an additional 26,780 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: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target on CME to $347 (maintaining a "neutral" rating), implying roughly double-digit upside from recent levels and offering fresh analyst support for the shares. Rothschild Co Redburn adjusts price target on CME to 347 from 333, maintains neutral rating
• Neutral Sentiment: CME’s CEO Terry Duffy publicly warned that U.S. government intervention in oil futures markets would be highly damaging; exchanges including CME have voiced opposition to potential Treasury action. This raises policy/regulatory risk for energy derivatives but also underscores the exchange’s central role in market integrity — a factor that can support trading volumes in energy products if volatility rises. US intervention in oil futures would be ‘biblical disaster’, CME warns CME Group CEO warns against US intervention in oil futures markets US intervention in oil futures market could be disastrous: CME Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting in recent feeds shows zero or nonsensical values and appears to be a data anomaly rather than a real bearish signal; treat those short-interest items with caution. (Market impact minimal until corrected.)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Ken Vroman (Chief Transformation Officer) sold about 5,160 shares (~$1.59M) and SEC filings show multiple recent insider sales across senior staff. While insider sales can be routine, the cadence and size may raise governance/owner-sentiment questions for some investors. CME Group’s Vroman sells $1.59 million in stock Insider Sale: Chief Transformation Officer of $CME Sells 5,160 Shares

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.53.

CME Group Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of CME stock opened at $311.40 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $112.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business's 50 day moving average is $295.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $279.06. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $248.53 and a twelve month high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.59%.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the acquisition, the director owned 258,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the 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 approximately $809,700. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 5,248 shares of company stock worth $1,616,700 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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