CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Purchased by Element Capital Management LLC

Element Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,706 shares during the quarter. CME Group comprises 4.4% of Element Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Element Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $9,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,895,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,802,366,000 after acquiring an additional 588,509 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,144,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,408,747,000 after purchasing an additional 56,725 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,523,241,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,924,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,344,776,000 after purchasing an additional 134,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,812,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,300,450,000 after purchasing an additional 130,848 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Trading Down 3.5%

NASDAQ:CME opened at $252.54 on Thursday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $282.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.75. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $244.56 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.21.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the company’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 directly owned 27,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,438,860.26. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $320.00 target price on CME Group in a report on Wednesday. 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 research report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.18.

CME Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME announced a planned leadership transition that appears orderly: longtime CEO Terry Duffy will move to executive chairman in March 2027, while President and CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick will become CEO. Investors may view the succession plan as reducing near-term key-person risk. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s transition also signals continuity, since Fitzpatrick already serves as president and CFO and has been part of CME’s leadership team. That makes the handoff less disruptive than an outside hire. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Duffy said CME plans to sue the CFTC over perpetual futures, highlighting a more confrontational regulatory backdrop. The dispute could add legal uncertainty and revive investor concerns about competition from new crypto derivatives products. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Kraken’s launch of perpetual futures for U.S. traders through a CFTC-regulated venue adds to fears that competitors could chip away at CME’s crypto derivatives franchise over time. Article Title

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.