Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $9.93 Million Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 26.2% in Q4, now owning 36,379 shares valued at about $9.93 million.
• CME raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 (annualized $5.20), a 1.7% yield, with an ex-dividend date of March 10 and payment on March 26, signaling confidence in cash generation.
• Insider and institutional activity: the General Counsel sold 3,291 shares (~$1.10M) and insiders sold 8,539 shares (~$2.71M) over the past three months, while institutional ownership remains high at about 87.75% amid mixed fund buying and selling.

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 26.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,545 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $9,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,660,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 41,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,474,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 142.3% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 46,561 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,833,000 after acquiring an additional 27,343 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in CME Group by 1.7% in the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 654,545 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 11,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 6.2% in the second quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 (annualized $5.20), a payout increase that supports yield-focused holders and signals confidence in cash generation. See company summary. MarketBeat: CME summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst actions are mixed — several firms have raised price targets and ratings (Jefferies, Weiss, Erste), while others remain cautious or underweight (JPMorgan, Goldman). The consensus view is close to a “Hold” with a median target near the current price, producing offsetting pressure on the stock. See analyst roundup. MarketBeat: analyst notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest notices published this week show zero shares/days-to-cover, which appears to be a data error (NaN/inconsistent reporting) and should not be treated as a meaningful change in market sentiment. No reliable short-squeeze signal. (No credible link — data feed report)
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership remains high and activity is mixed: large buy and sell moves by different funds have been reported in recent filings, so institutional flow is not clearly one-directional. MarketBeat: institutional activity
• Negative Sentiment: Senior management insider selling: General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares (around $1.1M) on March 17, reducing his holding by ~31%. Multiple recent insider sales by executives have been highlighted by data aggregators, which can weigh on sentiment even if sales are routine or for diversification. InsiderTrades: Marcus sale

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,397,597.04. The trade was a 31.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 24,999 shares in the company, valued at $7,647,194.10. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,539 shares of company stock worth $2,713,821. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Trading Down 1.1%

CME opened at $307.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $248.53 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16. The company's 50 day moving average price is $300.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $280.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.54, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.24.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CME shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 lifted their target price on CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $304.06.

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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