Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Purchases 7,336 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. raised its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 8.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,336 shares during the quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $26,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the second quarter worth about $1,571,447,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 185.5% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,244,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,182,000 after buying an additional 808,740 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $164,648,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,176,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,695,313,000 after buying an additional 532,549 shares during the period. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 131,625.5% during the second quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 486,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,970,000 after acquiring an additional 485,698 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday. Argus cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $280.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $314.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $290.82.

CME Group Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $273.08 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $224.62 and a 1 year high of $290.79. The firm has a market cap of $98.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $273.69 and a 200 day moving average of $272.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 58.84% and a return on equity of 14.61%. CME Group’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,511.23. This represents a 47.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME again raised precious‑metal margins to contain volatility; that decisive risk‑management reduces the clearinghouse’s tail risk and limits potential balance‑sheet exposure. CME lifts precious-metal margins again after price swings
• Positive Sentiment: A MarketBeat piece highlights ways investors can gain indirect exposure to a sustained metals rally — rising metals volatility (and eventual rebounds) can drive futures volume and clearing fees at CME over time. Gold, Silver, and Copper Are Surging—Here Are 3 Smart Ways to Play It (CME)
• Neutral Sentiment: Opinion/analysis piece arguing the CME’s large margin hikes function as a bailout for forced liquidations rather than a market crash — useful context on market mechanics but mixed implications for CME’s franchise. The Comex Liquidation: Why The CME’s $25K Margin Hike Is A Bailout, Not A Crash – The China Ban Decoupling
• Neutral Sentiment: Mining press coverage noting another round of margin hikes; reiterates that CME is reacting to extreme price swings — impact on short‑term volumes is uncertain. CME hikes precious-metal margins again after price swings
• Neutral Sentiment: Small‑cap fundraising news for Clarity Metals — unrelated to CME’s operations; included in the feed but unlikely to affect CME’s stock. Clarity Metals Raises $1.12 Million as Private Placement Closes
• Negative Sentiment: The Hindu BusinessLine reports CME’s margin hikes hit the precious‑metals complex and silver took the biggest hit — immediate price collapse in silver can depress trading activity and short‑term fee revenue for CME. CME Group raises margins for precious metals complex; silver takes the biggest hit
• Negative Sentiment: WSJ coverage describes silver trading like a “meme stock,” highlighting erratic flows and big retail/speculative participation that prompted the clearing response — a volatile environment that pressures short‑term revenues. Silver Is Trading Like a Meme Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple market outlets report sharp silver price falls immediately after CME raised margins again — represents the direct market reaction investors are pricing into CME shares today. Silver falls steeply after CME raises margins further
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch bulletin: silver prices dropped sharply after margin increases — signals lower trading turnover and heightened short‑term uncertainty for futures platforms like CME. Silver prices falling sharply after CME lifts trading margin requirements again
• Negative Sentiment: Economic Times: Indian MCX silver plunged and ETFs corrected; analysts point to CME margin hikes and thin holiday liquidity — illustrates the global knock‑on effects of CME’s actions on physical and ETF markets. MCX Silver price crashes Rs 22,000 in 3 days, ETF nosedives 11%. Is the multibagger rally over?

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.