Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Purchases 6,922 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 132,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,922 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $35,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $1,571,447,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in CME Group by 107.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,502,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $406,029,000 after purchasing an additional 777,571 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth $164,648,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 1.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,176,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,695,313,000 after buying an additional 532,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 131,625.5% in the second quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 486,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,970,000 after buying an additional 485,698 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Key CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME’s formal announcement to offer 24/7 trading for crypto futures and options — a move that addresses the timing gap with always‑on spot crypto markets and could lift ADV and fee revenue; the company cited record crypto notional volume in 2025. CME Group to Launch 24/7 Cryptocurrency Futures and Options Trading on May 29
• Positive Sentiment: Widespread coverage emphasizes the practical impacts — continuous trading can reduce “CME gaps,” boost institutional flow and expand crypto derivatives ADV, supporting the bullish thesis for trading‑fee growth. CME targets May launch for 24/7 crypto derivatives trading
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/fin‑media bullishness — some outlets include CME among top picks, arguing the firm converts market volatility into trading revenue, which supports the stock’s rally. 2 Best Stocks to Buy Right Now for February
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/market context — broader market moves (small‑cap rotation and sector flows) could be influencing intraday moves in financials/exchanges but are not specific to CME’s fundamentals. Small Caps Stage Quiet Comeback As AI Trade Shows Cracks
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data appears immaterial or inconsistent (no meaningful change reported); it isn’t currently signaling a large positioning risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares; small in size but noteworthy as a disclosed insider sale. Insider Sale: Martin J. Gepsman
• Negative Sentiment: Critical takeaways — at least one outlet warns of risks to the CME thesis (valuation and competitive/operational risks), which could temper enthusiasm if amplified by further negative coverage. 2 Reasons CME is Risky and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at $72,017,102.70. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 26,048 shares of company stock valued at $7,054,920 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $264.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Bank of America increased their price objective on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Argus decreased their price target on CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.53.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $308.09 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $111.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.61, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $283.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $274.74. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $246.91 and a twelve month high of $309.35.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

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.