Virtu Financial LLC Lowers Stake in CME Group Inc. $CME

Virtu Financial LLC cut its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 36.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,968 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CME. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,660,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 121,707 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 1,325.2% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $992,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of 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. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of CME Group 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 transaction, the insider owned 27,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,438,860.26. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 currently owned by company insiders.

Key CME Group News

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

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $246.38 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $244.56 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $279.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CME. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered CME Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Twelve 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.18.

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.