SG Americas Securities LLC Grows Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 25.8% in the first quarter, ending with 299,355 shares valued at about $88.4 million.
• Other institutional investors also added to or initiated positions, and 87.75% of CME Group’s stock is owned by institutions, indicating strong professional investor interest.
• CME reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $3.36 and revenue of $1.88 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share payable June 25.

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 25.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 299,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 61,457 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.08% of CME Group worth $88,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in CME Group by 103.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,018,000 after buying an additional 121,707 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1,325.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,497,000 after buying an additional 21,918 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $992,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in CME Group by 2.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 287,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $79,344,000 after purchasing an additional 7,397 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on CME Group from $340.00 to $323.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of CME Group from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of CME Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $305.18.

Trending Headlines about CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME continues to be highlighted as a dividend and value stock, with analysts noting its strong capital returns, electronic trading growth, and global product expansion could support a long-term rebound. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: One market note said CME may be undervalued after the CEO succession announcement, suggesting the stock could have upside if investors view the leadership transition as orderly. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: CME named longtime finance chief Julie Winkler as its next CEO, while Terry Duffy will step into an executive chairman role; the move appears planned and may reduce uncertainty, but it also marks a major leadership change. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is also taking legal action against the CFTC over approval of perpetual crypto futures, arguing the products should be treated as swaps rather than futures. The case could affect CME’s role in crypto derivatives, but the financial impact is still uncertain. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs kept a Sell rating on CME and trimmed its price target, citing leadership transition risk and regulatory uncertainty, which may be weighing on sentiment. Article Title

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total value of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $246.38 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $279.61 and a 200 day moving average of $287.27. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $244.56 and a 52 week high of $329.16. The company has a market cap of $89.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.21. 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 (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. CME Group's payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

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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