CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Purchased by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 548,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,495 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.15% of CME Group worth $149,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 345.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 237,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,965,000 after acquiring an additional 184,459 shares during the last quarter. Dover Advisors LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 95.5% during the third quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 5,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,512,000 after acquiring an additional 2,734 shares during the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $2,122,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 50,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,773,000 after purchasing an additional 12,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 114,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,297,507 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME announced four new E-mini futures contracts tied to broad-market equity benchmarks, plus new Micro E-mini options on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100. These launches could attract more trading volume by giving investors additional, lower-cost ways to hedge and gain market exposure. CME Group to Expand Equity Index Suite with Launch of Four New E-mini Futures Contracts
• Positive Sentiment: The company also said it will expand 24/7 trading for WTI crude oil and gold, which could improve price discovery and make CME’s metals and energy products more attractive to global traders operating outside normal market hours. CME Group to Expand 24/7 Trading for WTI Crude Oil and Gold
• Positive Sentiment: CME launched Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures and is moving deeper into digital-asset derivatives, giving investors regulated exposure to major cryptocurrencies and potentially opening another growth avenue for the exchange. CME Group Launches Crypto Index Futures Tracking Bitcoin, Solana and XRP
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank slightly raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for CME, signaling stable earnings expectations rather than a major change in outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary around the CFTC’s crypto oversight has raised concerns about regulatory pressure and market criticism, which could create uncertainty for CME’s expanding crypto-related products. CFTC’s Lone Chair Selig Expands Grip Over Crypto and Prediction Markets

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $269.53 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.21. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $244.56 and a one year high of $329.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $284.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.07. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $275.00 to $267.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.71.

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.