Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Lowers Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered 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 disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 22,340 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in CME Group were worth $4,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caldwell Trust Co lifted its position in shares of CME Group by 116.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in CME Group in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter worth $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $302.27 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $276.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.09, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.27. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $239.70 and a 12-month high of $302.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.47.

Trending Headlines about CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and commentary reinforced the firm’s resilient fee-based franchise — investors reacted to better-than-expected quarterly results and the company hitting a new one-year high after the report. Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank raised its price target to $316 and maintained a buy rating, giving fresh analyst support that can help momentum. Deutsche Bank PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating, highlighting CME’s defensive, fee-based franchise and structural growth drivers. Morgan Stanley Note
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC nudged its target to $302 (sector perform) — a small technical change that largely preserves prior sentiment. RBC PT Adjustment
• Positive Sentiment: Management confirmed the firm is exploring a CME-issued digital token and tokenized cash pilots (including work with Google), a strategic move that could expand 24/7 crypto/product offerings and new non-trading revenue streams. CME Token Exploration
• Negative Sentiment: CME raised initial and maintenance margins for gold and silver futures (e.g., gold margins to 9% from 8%, silver to 18% from 15%) to manage sharp volatility — measures that can damp trading volume and futures activity in the near term. Margin Hikes
• Negative Sentiment: Pelican Bay Capital reported selling CME in Q4, signaling at least some institutional trimming that could weigh on sentiment if others follow. Institutional Selling
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan still carries an underweight rating despite updating its target — a reminder there are pockets of skepticism about valuation and upside. JPMorgan Note

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the transaction, the director owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,017,102.70. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.