Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Grows Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,922 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $35,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,037 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 230.7% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $995,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 60.3% during the 2nd quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 6,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $219,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on CME Group from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.53.

Key CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME’s formal announcement to offer 24/7 trading for crypto futures and options — a move that addresses the timing gap with always‑on spot crypto markets and could lift ADV and fee revenue; the company cited record crypto notional volume in 2025. CME Group to Launch 24/7 Cryptocurrency Futures and Options Trading on May 29
• Positive Sentiment: Widespread coverage emphasizes the practical impacts — continuous trading can reduce “CME gaps,” boost institutional flow and expand crypto derivatives ADV, supporting the bullish thesis for trading‑fee growth. CME targets May launch for 24/7 crypto derivatives trading
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/fin‑media bullishness — some outlets include CME among top picks, arguing the firm converts market volatility into trading revenue, which supports the stock’s rally. 2 Best Stocks to Buy Right Now for February
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/market context — broader market moves (small‑cap rotation and sector flows) could be influencing intraday moves in financials/exchanges but are not specific to CME’s fundamentals. Small Caps Stage Quiet Comeback As AI Trade Shows Cracks
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data appears immaterial or inconsistent (no meaningful change reported); it isn’t currently signaling a large positioning risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares; small in size but noteworthy as a disclosed insider sale. Insider Sale: Martin J. Gepsman
• Negative Sentiment: Critical takeaways — at least one outlet warns of risks to the CME thesis (valuation and competitive/operational risks), which could temper enthusiasm if amplified by further negative coverage. 2 Reasons CME is Risky and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total value of $91,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,647,194.10. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 26,048 shares of company stock valued at $7,054,920 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CME Group Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $308.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $246.91 and a 1 year high of $309.35. The firm has a market cap of $111.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.61, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $283.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $274.74.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

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.