Bull Harbor Capital LLC Takes Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Bull Harbor Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 3,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $936,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 2,075.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,860.26. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard acquired 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 260,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. This trade represents a 0.12% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CME. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on CME Group from $324.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of CME Group from $316.00 to $270.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on CME Group from $329.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.81.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $267.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $96.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $251.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $281.15. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $218.31 and a 1-year high of $329.16.

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

CME Group Dividend Announcement

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

Key Headlines Impacting CME Group

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.

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.