Congress Asset Management Co. Reduces Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Congress Asset Management Co. lowered its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,711 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $18,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,307,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,539,618,000 after purchasing an additional 130,698 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter worth about $1,571,447,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 2.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,812,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,300,450,000 after purchasing an additional 130,848 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of CME Group by 6.6% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,833,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,056,476,000 after purchasing an additional 238,522 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,006,932,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,397,597.04. This trade represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $224,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $809,700. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on CME shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings raised CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.06.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $302.68 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $301.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $281.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.55 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. The firm 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.52 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.59%.

Key Headlines Impacting CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: BMO partnership to offer tokenized cash: CME’s permissioned network on Google Cloud Universal Ledger will be used by Bank of Montreal to launch 24/7 tokenized cash services for institutional clients — a clear revenue-adjacent product win that reinforces CME’s role in institutional digital-asset plumbing and could expand fee streams over time. CME, Bank of Montreal Team Up to Launch Tokenized Cash Service
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data appears unreliable: multiple March filings claim a “large increase” in short interest but simultaneously report 0 shares short and NaN changes — likely a reporting/data error. This item is unlikely to be a genuine pressure point for the stock unless corrected filings show real short positions.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/institional landscape is mixed: recent analyst coverage shows a range of price targets (median ~$307) and a mix of buy/overweight and at least one underweight. Institutional activity is mixed as well (some large adds and large trims), implying divergent views on near‑term upside. These factors support volatility but not a decisive directional catalyst. CME GROUP INC. ($CME) Chairman and CEO 2025 Pay Revealed
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling disclosed: a recent filing summary shows multiple insiders (including senior execs) sold shares over the past year and an estimated CEO pay disclosure — insider selling can be perceived negatively by the market and may weigh on sentiment if viewed as profit‑taking. CME GROUP INC. ($CME) Chairman and CEO 2025 Pay Revealed

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.