CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Purchased by FJ Capital Management LLC

FJ Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 255.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,794 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $5,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,895,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,802,366,000 after acquiring an additional 588,509 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,144,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,408,747,000 after purchasing an additional 56,725 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $1,523,241,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in CME Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,924,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,344,776,000 after acquiring an additional 134,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 2.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,812,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,300,450,000 after acquiring an additional 130,848 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the company’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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,297,507 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $305.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of CME Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $305.71.

CME Group Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of CME opened at $269.53 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $284.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.07. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $244.56 and a twelve month high of $329.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.21.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its earnings results 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. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 44.37%.

CME Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME announced four new E-mini futures contracts tied to broad-market equity benchmarks, plus new Micro E-mini options on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100. These launches could attract more trading volume by giving investors additional, lower-cost ways to hedge and gain market exposure. CME Group to Expand Equity Index Suite with Launch of Four New E-mini Futures Contracts
• Positive Sentiment: The company also said it will expand 24/7 trading for WTI crude oil and gold, which could improve price discovery and make CME’s metals and energy products more attractive to global traders operating outside normal market hours. CME Group to Expand 24/7 Trading for WTI Crude Oil and Gold
• Positive Sentiment: CME launched Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures and is moving deeper into digital-asset derivatives, giving investors regulated exposure to major cryptocurrencies and potentially opening another growth avenue for the exchange. CME Group Launches Crypto Index Futures Tracking Bitcoin, Solana and XRP
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank slightly raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for CME, signaling stable earnings expectations rather than a major change in outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary around the CFTC’s crypto oversight has raised concerns about regulatory pressure and market criticism, which could create uncertainty for CME’s expanding crypto-related products. CFTC’s Lone Chair Selig Expands Grip Over Crypto and Prediction Markets

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.