Vertrix Wealth Management LLC Takes $974,000 Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Vertrix Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $974,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in CME Group by 345.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 237,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,965,000 after buying an additional 184,459 shares during the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,122,000. First Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,325,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its position in shares of CME Group by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 140,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,289,000 after acquiring an additional 3,931 shares during the period. Finally, MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in CME Group by 138.8% during the 4th quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,953,000 after acquiring an additional 4,152 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CME. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Piper Sandler set a $320.00 price target on CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $300.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William R. Shepard bought 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the transaction, the director owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at $60,050,111.94. This represents a 0.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at $16,606,111.30. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded CME Group (CME) to Outperform from Market Perform and kept a $305 price target, citing an attractive risk/reward setup after recent stock weakness. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Insider buying may also support sentiment: Director William Shepard bought 325 shares at about $230.57 per share, signaling confidence from management. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts still expect modest earnings growth ahead of CME’s next report, and one note lifted FY2027 EPS estimates slightly, reinforcing the view that fundamentals remain solid. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: CME is expected to report second-quarter results soon, with Wall Street looking for low-single-digit profit growth; investors may be waiting for the print before making bigger moves. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs cut its price target on CME Group (CME) to $245 from $267 and maintained a Sell rating, which likely weighed on the stock. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: DraftKings’ move to bring its prediction-markets infrastructure in-house may reduce reliance on third-party platforms such as CME over time, creating a potential competitive headwind. Article Title

CME Group Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $231.00 on Thursday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $218.31 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $269.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $284.88. The firm has a market cap of $83.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.21.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.19% and a return on equity of 15.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 44.37%.

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.