Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 228,187 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management dramatically increased its CME Group stake in Q4, buying 228,187 additional shares to bring its total holdings to 241,023 shares worth about $65.8 million.
• CME Group is expanding its product lineup with plans to launch Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures on June 8, pending regulatory approval, which would be its first market-cap weighted futures contract.
• The company topped quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $3.36 on revenue of $1.88 billion, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share payable on June 25.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 1,777.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 241,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 228,187 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 0.07% of CME Group worth $65,819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,647,194.10. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total transaction of $1,300,530.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 43,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,317,117.55. This represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 7,791 shares of company stock valued at $2,489,421 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME Group announced plans to launch Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures on June 8, pending regulatory review. The new contract would be CME’s first-ever market-cap weighted futures product and expands its regulated crypto offerings, which investors may view as a growth driver. Article: CME Group to Launch Nasdaq CME Crypto Index Futures
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Interactive Brokers is integrating CME event contracts into a unified prediction-markets platform highlight CME’s growing relevance in new trading products and could support longer-term volume opportunities. Article: Interactive Brokers Debuts All-in-One Prediction Market Portal
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of CME’s annual meeting preliminary results was routine governance news, but it showed no apparent disruption to the company’s leadership or shareholder base. Article: CME Group Inc. Announces Preliminary Results of 2026 Annual Meeting
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple reports said CME and Intercontinental Exchange are lobbying U.S. regulators to increase scrutiny of Hyperliquid, arguing that the unregulated platform could affect price discovery in oil and crypto markets. This is more about competitive/regulatory positioning than a direct business event for CME, but it may be seen as CME defending the regulated futures ecosystem. Article: CME, ICE Push US to Curb Crypto’s Offshore Oil Trading Upstart
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market commentary referenced CME’s FedWatch tool showing higher odds of a Fed hike later in 2026, but this is an indirect macro signal rather than company-specific news. Article: The Bond Market Just Fired A Warning Shot At The AI Rally — Fed Hike Ahead

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CME. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $305.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $267.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $323.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $305.29.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock opened at $298.86 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $298.07 and a 200-day moving average of $288.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $257.17 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The company has a market capitalization of $108.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.23.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 earned $2.80 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. 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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