HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 22,692 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 352,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,692 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $96,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CME. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in CME Group by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in CME Group by 103.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 121,707 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in CME Group by 1,325.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,497,000 after acquiring an additional 21,918 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth $992,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in CME Group by 2.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 287,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,344,000 after acquiring an additional 7,397 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $302.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.23. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $257.17 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $297.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.74.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.37%.

Key CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME continues to benefit from solid fundamentals, including a recent earnings beat with stronger-than-expected revenue and EPS, plus a healthy dividend that supports shareholder returns.
• Positive Sentiment: New activity in CME-linked derivatives products, including growing interest in interest-rate and crypto-related futures, suggests the exchange remains well positioned to capture trading volume and product demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary also noted CME as an alternative for investors concerned about correlation risk, which reflects the company’s role as a defensive financial market infrastructure name.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company adjourned voting on Class B proposals after a quorum shortfall at its 2026 annual meeting, a procedural issue that is unlikely to change the business outlook but may keep some attention on governance matters. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Terrence Duffy sold 35,000 shares and insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares, which can weigh on sentiment because investors often view insider selling as a cautious signal. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total value of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. The trade was a 1.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 27,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 48,544 shares of company stock worth $14,689,807 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the topic of a number of research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $340.00 to $316.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.29.

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.