CME Group Inc. $CME Shares Acquired by Advisory Research Inc.

Advisory Research Inc. boosted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 19.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,861 shares during the quarter. CME Group accounts for approximately 2.2% of Advisory Research Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Advisory Research Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $16,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position 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 valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. grew its stake in CME Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in CME Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,898,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Finemark National Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of CME Group by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Finemark National Bank & Trust now owns 4,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CME. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $224,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $809,700. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 5,248 shares of company stock valued at $1,616,700 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CME Group Stock Up 2.6%

CME opened at $311.19 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $294.97 and its 200-day moving average is $278.66. The company has a market capitalization of $112.22 billion, a PE ratio of 27.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $248.53 and a one year high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. CME Group’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.59%.

Key CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target on CME to $347 (from $333) while keeping a “neutral” rating — the higher target gives investors more upside potential and likely supported buying interest. Rothschild price-target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually high options activity was flagged on CME, which often precedes directional moves as traders position ahead of catalysts (can amplify short-term upside). Options trading alert
• Neutral Sentiment: CME announced its Q1 2026 earnings release and conference call date (April 22, 2026). The scheduled report is a near-term catalyst that could drive volatility but is routine in itself. Earnings release announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Terry Duffy publicly warned that U.S. government intervention in oil futures would be a “biblical disaster” — a high-profile defense of market integrity that highlights regulatory risk but also positions CME as protective of exchange-based price discovery. FT: US intervention warning
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports for March appear to show zero shares (data likely erroneous or delayed) — no reliable signal from the published short-interest figures. (Market volume remains healthy.)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Ken Vroman (Chief Transformation Officer) sold 5,160 shares (~25.7% of his class holdings) on March 12 for roughly $1.59M. Quiver’s roundup shows multiple executive sales over recent months, which can weigh on sentiment even if sales are often for personal reasons. Insider sale details
• Negative Sentiment: Large institutional rebalancing noted in recent quarters (e.g., UBS AM removed a substantial position in Q4 2025). Big fund flows can add selling pressure or reduce available demand. (Source: Quiver summary in the insider activity report.)

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.