Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Has $1.79 Million Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,909 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $1,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 11.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 69.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 952 shares in the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $604,000. Natural Investments LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,664,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.47.

CME Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and commentary reinforced the firm’s resilient fee-based franchise — investors reacted to better-than-expected quarterly results and the company hitting a new one-year high after the report. Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank raised its price target to $316 and maintained a buy rating, giving fresh analyst support that can help momentum. Deutsche Bank PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating, highlighting CME’s defensive, fee-based franchise and structural growth drivers. Morgan Stanley Note
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC nudged its target to $302 (sector perform) — a small technical change that largely preserves prior sentiment. RBC PT Adjustment
• Positive Sentiment: Management confirmed the firm is exploring a CME-issued digital token and tokenized cash pilots (including work with Google), a strategic move that could expand 24/7 crypto/product offerings and new non-trading revenue streams. CME Token Exploration
• Negative Sentiment: CME raised initial and maintenance margins for gold and silver futures (e.g., gold margins to 9% from 8%, silver to 18% from 15%) to manage sharp volatility — measures that can damp trading volume and futures activity in the near term. Margin Hikes
• Negative Sentiment: Pelican Bay Capital reported selling CME in Q4, signaling at least some institutional trimming that could weigh on sentiment if others follow. Institutional Selling
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan still carries an underweight rating despite updating its target — a reminder there are pockets of skepticism about valuation and upside. JPMorgan Note

CME Group Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $302.27 on Monday. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $239.70 and a 52-week high of $302.79. The company has a market capitalization of $109.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $276.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.03.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, Director William R. Shepard bought 251 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 approximately $72,017,102.70. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The purchase 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total transaction of $6,738,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 65,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group 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.