CME Group Inc. $CME Stake Reduced by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership cut its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,866,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 966,635 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.79% of CME Group worth $774,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 25.3% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 34.7% during the second quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 1,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,265,000. Finally, PFG Advisors acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting CME Group

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.)

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CME. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on CME Group from $264.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.53.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME opened at $311.19 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $294.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $278.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $112.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $248.53 and a 1-year high of $329.16.

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

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the business’s 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 acquisition, the director owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,017,102.70. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 5,248 shares of company stock valued at $1,616,700 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.