Winthrop Partners WNY LLC Purchases New Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Winthrop Partners WNY LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,280,000. CME Group comprises about 1.2% of Winthrop Partners WNY LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,523,241,000. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,006,932,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $636,487,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 746.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,049,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $559,720,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $217,656,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on CME shares. TD Cowen dropped their target price on CME Group from $340.00 to $323.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler set a $320.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.18.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $246.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $89.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.21. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $244.56 and a 12-month high of $329.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $279.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The business’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. Analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.37%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $10,447,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.63, for a total transaction of $1,752,536.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,702 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,860.26. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME continues to be highlighted as a dividend and value stock, with analysts noting its strong capital returns, electronic trading growth, and global product expansion could support a long-term rebound. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: One market note said CME may be undervalued after the CEO succession announcement, suggesting the stock could have upside if investors view the leadership transition as orderly. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: CME named longtime finance chief Julie Winkler as its next CEO, while Terry Duffy will step into an executive chairman role; the move appears planned and may reduce uncertainty, but it also marks a major leadership change. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is also taking legal action against the CFTC over approval of perpetual crypto futures, arguing the products should be treated as swaps rather than futures. The case could affect CME’s role in crypto derivatives, but the financial impact is still uncertain. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs kept a Sell rating on CME and trimmed its price target, citing leadership transition risk and regulatory uncertainty, which may be weighing on sentiment. Article Title

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.