Militia Capital Management LLC Takes Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Militia Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,660 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,558,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2,075.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on CME Group from $316.00 to $270.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of CME Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.12.

CME Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME Group posted Q2 adjusted earnings of $2.99 per share, topping estimates, while revenue of about $1.71 billion also beat forecasts. The upside was supported by strong hedging demand and active derivatives trading, which reinforced confidence in the company’s core exchange business. Reuters article
• 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, suggesting momentum remains solid heading into the rest of the year. Quiver Quantitative article
• Positive Sentiment: Trading volumes were strong, with average daily volume near 29.8 million contracts and record market data revenue of $238 million, both of which support the view that CME is benefiting from elevated market activity and pricing power. Seeking Alpha presentation
• Positive Sentiment: Shares also gained support from unusual call-option buying and broader investor interest following the earnings beat, which can reinforce near-term upward momentum. Quiver Quantitative options flow article
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Terrence Duffy pushed back on market chatter about potential perpetual-futures products, saying clients are not demanding them. That appears to have been a side issue rather than a direct driver of the move. Bloomberg article

CME Group Stock Up 5.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $249.24 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $255.87 and a 200 day moving average of $281.51. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.31 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.25.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. CME Group's payout ratio is 44.37%.

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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