New York State Common Retirement Fund Purchases 24,335 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 538,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,335 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in CME Group were worth $145,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on CME shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on CME Group from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.18.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total transaction of $263,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $287,511.23. This represents a 47.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $286.05 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $274.64 and a 200 day moving average of $272.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $103.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.27. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $232.32 and a 52 week high of $290.79.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

CME Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Metals trading hit a single-day record (3.34M contracts on Jan. 26), boosting fee-related trading revenue and signaling elevated client hedging activity amid precious-metals volatility. This supports near-term revenue upside. CME Group Reaches New Record in Metals Futures and Options
• Positive Sentiment: CME expanded crypto derivatives by adding options on Bitcoin Friday futures, broadening product mix and potential fee pools as institutional crypto activity grows. This can support future revenue diversification. CME Group Expands Crypto Offerings With Options On Bitcoin Friday Futures
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect CME to report earnings growth next week, with commentary that the company has the setup for a likely earnings beat—fuel for short-term upside if results and guidance beat consensus. CME Group (CME) Earnings Expected to Grow
• Positive Sentiment: Reported short-interest fell ~15.6% to ~4.21M shares as of Jan. 15 (about 1.2% of float), lowering immediate downside pressure from short squeezes and signalling reduced bearish positioning. (Data entry summary)
• Neutral Sentiment: CME signed a multiyear jersey-patch sponsorship with the Chicago White Sox — a brand/marketing move that raises local visibility but is unlikely to move near-term fundamentals materially. CME Group Named as First-Ever Chicago White Sox Jersey Patch Sponsor
• Neutral Sentiment: CME is scheduled to report earnings this coming Wednesday — an event investors should watch closely for volume-driven revenue, guidance and margin commentary. CME Group (CME) to Release Earnings on Wednesday
• Neutral Sentiment: Some short-interest data entries in the feed show inconsistencies (0 shares / NaN changes) — treat those as reporting errors rather than market signals until confirmed by official filings. (Data entry summary)

CME Group Company 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.