Bull Harbor Capital LLC Makes New $936,000 Investment in CME Group Inc. $CME

Bull Harbor Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $936,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 11.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 103.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after buying an additional 121,707 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1,325.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,497,000 after buying an additional 21,918 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the second quarter valued at $992,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake 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 last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was 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 approximately $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $267.36 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $218.31 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The firm has a market cap of $96.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.68, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $251.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 63.30%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.11%.

CME Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded retail access to futures: TradeStation is expanding its futures offering to include CME Group’s spot-quoted futures, potentially increasing participation, liquidity and transaction volume across CME’s markets. TradeStation Expands Futures Offering with CME Group Spot-Quoted Futures
• Positive Sentiment: Entry into sports-related derivatives: CME Group plans to launch cash-settled futures tied to sports performance indexes through a partnership with FutureSports. The initiative targets the roughly $650 billion global sports industry and could create a new source of trading and clearing revenue if it receives regulatory approval and attracts hedging demand. CME Group Targets $650 Billion Sports Industry With First Sports Index Futures
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings beat expectations: CME’s latest quarterly results exceeded consensus estimates, with earnings per share of $2.99 versus $2.91 expected and revenue of $1.71 billion versus $1.68 billion expected. Revenue increased year over year, reinforcing the company’s strong operating performance and high margins.
• Neutral Sentiment: Federal Reserve holds rates steady: The Fed kept its benchmark rate at 3.50%–3.75%, in line with expectations. The decision does not materially change CME’s outlook, though future rate uncertainty can support activity in interest-rate and other derivatives markets. Fed Holds Rates Between 3.50% and 3.75%
• Negative Sentiment: Minor earnings-estimate reduction: Erste Group Bank lowered its FY2027 EPS forecast to $12.91 from $12.94 and maintained a “Hold” rating. The small revision signals limited near-term upside from that analyst, though the estimate remains above the broader current-year consensus of $12.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CME. Bank of America boosted their target price on CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $323.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on CME Group from $329.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.81.

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.