Donoghue Forlines LLC Cuts Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Donoghue Forlines LLC reduced its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 63.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,765 shares during the period. Donoghue Forlines LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CME. Jessup Wealth Management Inc increased its holdings in CME Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 5,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME plans to add Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK) and Stellar (XLM) futures — standard and micro contracts — boosting crypto product breadth and capital‑efficient tools for clients; listing targeted for Feb. 9 pending review, which could lift futures trading volumes and fee revenue. CME Group Expands Crypto Futures With Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen upgraded CME to “Buy”, signaling constructive analyst sentiment that supports upside and likely helped investor confidence. TD Cowen Upgrades CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) to “Buy”
• Positive Sentiment: CME is introducing a new, smaller silver futures contract to capture surging retail interest in silver — a product move that can broaden participation and boost notional volumes in metals. Silver Gets a Major Upgrade: CME to Launch New Futures as Retail Demand Hits Record Levels
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies trimmed its price target slightly (from $304 to $302) but kept a “Buy” rating — modestly lowering upside but still supportive. Jefferies Adjusts Price Target on CME Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut its price target by $1 to $319 while retaining an “Overweight” rating — a slight tweak that keeps a bullish stance but marginally lowers modeled upside. Morgan Stanley Lowers CME Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst previews and coverage notes (e.g., “Here’s What to Expect From CME Group’s Next Earnings Report”) keep focus on volumes/fee trends and macro volatility — useful context but not immediate catalysts. Here’s What to Expect From CME Group’s Next Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs nudged its target slightly lower (from $265 to $264) and maintains a “Sell” rating — a visible negative outlier that can weigh on sentiment among more cautious investors. Goldman Sachs Adjusts CME Group Price Target

CME Group Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of CME stock opened at $279.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $100.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.08, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $274.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.81. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.19 and a twelve month high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. Research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction 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 purchase, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at $287,511.23. This trade represents a 47.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on CME. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on CME Group from $320.00 to $319.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Argus decreased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $290.00 to $305.00 in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.82.

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.