Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $3.43 Million Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,067 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in CME Group were worth $3,428,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,571,447,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 107.2% during the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,502,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $406,029,000 after purchasing an additional 777,571 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter worth $164,648,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 1.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,176,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,695,313,000 after purchasing an additional 532,549 shares during the period. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd raised its position in CME Group by 131,625.5% during the 2nd quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 486,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,970,000 after purchasing an additional 485,698 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on CME. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $264.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $299.53.

More CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME’s formal announcement to offer 24/7 trading for crypto futures and options — a move that addresses the timing gap with always‑on spot crypto markets and could lift ADV and fee revenue; the company cited record crypto notional volume in 2025. CME Group to Launch 24/7 Cryptocurrency Futures and Options Trading on May 29
• Positive Sentiment: Widespread coverage emphasizes the practical impacts — continuous trading can reduce “CME gaps,” boost institutional flow and expand crypto derivatives ADV, supporting the bullish thesis for trading‑fee growth. CME targets May launch for 24/7 crypto derivatives trading
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/fin‑media bullishness — some outlets include CME among top picks, arguing the firm converts market volatility into trading revenue, which supports the stock’s rally. 2 Best Stocks to Buy Right Now for February
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/market context — broader market moves (small‑cap rotation and sector flows) could be influencing intraday moves in financials/exchanges but are not specific to CME’s fundamentals. Small Caps Stage Quiet Comeback As AI Trade Shows Cracks
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data appears immaterial or inconsistent (no meaningful change reported); it isn’t currently signaling a large positioning risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares; small in size but noteworthy as a disclosed insider sale. Insider Sale: Martin J. Gepsman
• Negative Sentiment: Critical takeaways — at least one outlet warns of risks to the CME thesis (valuation and competitive/operational risks), which could temper enthusiasm if amplified by further negative coverage. 2 Reasons CME is Risky and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total value of $91,770.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,737,468.20. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 26,048 shares of company stock valued at $7,054,920 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Up 1.4%

CME Group stock opened at $308.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $111.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.61, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.27. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $246.91 and a 12-month high of $309.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $283.19 and its 200 day moving average is $274.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.80%.

About CME Group

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.