CME Group Inc. $CME Position Increased by First Washington CORP

First Washington CORP boosted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 47.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,713 shares during the period. CME Group comprises 2.3% of First Washington CORP’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. First Washington CORP’s holdings in CME Group were worth $7,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,147,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Endowment Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on CME. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $329.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of CME Group from $342.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.81.

Key CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME Group beat Q2 estimates, reporting $2.99 EPS versus $2.91 expected and revenue of about $1.71 billion versus $1.68 billion expected, supporting the stock. CME profit tops estimates, CEO says ‘perps’ chatter overshadows results
• Positive Sentiment: Management said the first half of 2026 was the strongest in company history for revenue, adjusted operating income, adjusted net income, and adjusted diluted EPS, which likely boosted investor confidence. CME Group jumps after Q2 earnings beat and strong trading activity
• Positive Sentiment: Record market data revenue and strong trading volumes suggested core business momentum remains healthy, another bullish catalyst for the stock. CME Group jumps after Q2 earnings beat and strong trading activity
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Hold rating with a $260 target, signaling solid fundamentals but limited upside from current levels. Neutral Stance Reiterated on CME as Solid Fundamentals Meet Valuation Limits; $260 Price Target Maintained
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan kept an Underweight rating and BofA maintained an Underperform stance, both implying analysts still see downside risk despite the earnings beat. Benzinga report on JPMorgan price target change Benzinga report on Bank of America price target change

CME Group Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $254.32 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $218.31 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The firm has a market cap of $92.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $255.00 and its 200-day moving average is $281.41.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.17 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.11%.

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.