State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $33.50 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. $CME

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 123,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,064 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in CME Group were worth $33,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caldwell Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 116.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at $30,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME raised shareholder payouts — the board declared a Q1 quarterly dividend of $1.30 (up from $1.25) and an annual variable dividend of $6.15 based on 2025 results (total ≈ $2.2B), both payable March 26; that boosts cash return to investors. CME Group Declares Annual Variable Dividend and Q1 2026 Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target lift — Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its CME price target to $333 from $300 (still a “neutral” rating), implying roughly 9.7% upside versus recent levels, which can support buying interest. Rothschild & Co Redburn Adjusts Price Target on CME Group to $333 From $300, Maintains Neutral Rating
• Positive Sentiment: New product rollout and execution — CME reported first trades in new Cardano, Chainlink and Stellar crypto futures and is actively exploring a rare-earths futures contract; these product additions expand fee pools and diversify revenue. CME Group Announces First Trades for New Cardano, Chainlink and Stellar Cryptocurrency Futures CME Weighs Launching First-Ever Rare Earth Futures Contract / Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: Asia expansion — reports say CME plans to list Taiwan and Hong Kong warehouses for aluminium futures in Asia, a move that could deepen regional market presence and increase volumes. Exclusive: CME to list Taiwan, Hong Kong warehouses in Asia aluminium push, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: CFTC advisory involvement — the CFTC formed an Innovation Advisory Committee that includes a CME executive; this provides regulatory engagement but unclear near-term financial impact. CFTC Forms Innovation Advisory Committee With 35 Crypto and Finance Industry Leaders
• Neutral Sentiment: Board slate announced — CME named director nominees for the annual meeting; routine governance news that is unlikely to move the stock materially. CME Group Inc. Names Slate of Director Nominees
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/earnings commentary — recent analyst-question coverage from the Q4 call provides context for growth drivers but contains no new guidance. 5 Must-Read Analyst Questions From CME Group’s Q4 Earnings Call
• Negative Sentiment: Short-interest reporting is inconsistent — filings flagged a “significant increase” in February short interest but published data show zeros/NaN, creating ambiguity; if short interest is actually rising, that could add downward pressure.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at $809,700. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 251 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of CME stock opened at $303.07 on Monday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $244.43 and a 12 month high of $309.35. The company has a market cap of $109.29 billion, a PE ratio of 27.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business’s 50 day moving average is $279.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.97.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.52 EPS. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $264.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.53.

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.