Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $15.82 Million Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 58,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,895 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in CME Group were worth $15,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 18.9% in the third quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 8,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 72,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,507,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 8.6% during the third quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in shares of CME Group by 2.6% during the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 33,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,157,000 after buying an additional 866 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $301.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.03. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $244.43 and a 52-week high of $309.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $279.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.80. The firm has a market cap of $108.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.03, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.27.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 44.80%.

Trending Headlines about CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company raised cash returns — declared a Q1 regular dividend of $1.30 per share (4% increase) and an annual variable dividend of $6.15 per share (~$2.2B), both payable March 26 to holders of record March 10; this boosts income yield and signals strong 2025 free cash flow. Dividend Release
• Positive Sentiment: New product pipeline: CME is exploring a first-ever rare-earths futures contract and has been reported to be planning launches that could create transparent price benchmarks for strategically important commodities — potential long-term revenue driver. Rare-Earths/Expansion Reporting
• Positive Sentiment: Asia expansion: Reuters reports CME plans to list Taiwan and Hong Kong warehouses as part of an Asia aluminium push — this regional expansion could deepen physical-derivatives liquidity and fee pools. Asia Warehouses Story
• Positive Sentiment: Product traction in digital assets: CME announced first trades in new Cardano, Chainlink and Stellar futures — incremental product diversification and fee generation from crypto derivatives. Crypto Futures Release
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional demand: Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund disclosed a material addition to its CME position (~38,147 shares), a sign of institutional buying interest. QuiverQuant Fund Update
• Positive Sentiment: Volume catalysts: Wedbush highlighted surging volumes in CME’s prediction markets around Super Bowl LX, underscoring episodic volume drivers for clearing revenues. Wedbush Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Board slate: CME filed its slate of director nominees for the May annual meeting — routine governance update with limited near-term price impact. Director Nominees Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data appears anomalous (reports showing 0 shares and NaN changes) — no clear evidence of elevated short activity from the available reports. Short Interest Reports
• Negative Sentiment: Sell-side signal: Goldman Sachs raised its price target but to $266 — notably below current levels — which could be interpreted as a conservative view on near-term upside and may weigh on sentiment. Goldman Sachs Note

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard bought 251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on CME shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays raised their target price on CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Argus dropped their price target on CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $264.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.59.

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.