AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Sells 198,835 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd trimmed its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 58.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 139,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 198,835 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in CME Group were worth $37,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jessup Wealth Management Inc raised 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 worth $2,197,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,453,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 0.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 59.2% during the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CME. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of CME Group from $265.00 to $264.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CME Group from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on CME Group from $310.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Nine 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. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,017,102.70. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 1,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $287,511.23. The trade was a 47.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key CME Group News

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 Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $286.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $232.32 and a 1 year high of $290.79. The company has a market cap of $103.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.72, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $274.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.15.

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 paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.45%.

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.