Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lowered its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,395 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in CME Group were worth $15,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd increased its position in shares of CME Group by 70.9% during the fourth quarter. Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd now owns 24,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,606,000 after acquiring an additional 10,038 shares during the period. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Europe Ltd increased its position in shares of CME Group by 457.1% during the fourth quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Europe Ltd now owns 195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $351,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of CME Group by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,074,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $839,659,000 after acquiring an additional 208,318 shares during the period. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

More CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME announced four new E-mini futures contracts tied to broad-market equity benchmarks, plus new Micro E-mini options on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100. These launches could attract more trading volume by giving investors additional, lower-cost ways to hedge and gain market exposure. CME Group to Expand Equity Index Suite with Launch of Four New E-mini Futures Contracts
• Positive Sentiment: The company also said it will expand 24/7 trading for WTI crude oil and gold, which could improve price discovery and make CME’s metals and energy products more attractive to global traders operating outside normal market hours. CME Group to Expand 24/7 Trading for WTI Crude Oil and Gold
• Positive Sentiment: CME launched Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures and is moving deeper into digital-asset derivatives, giving investors regulated exposure to major cryptocurrencies and potentially opening another growth avenue for the exchange. CME Group Launches Crypto Index Futures Tracking Bitcoin, Solana and XRP
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank slightly raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for CME, signaling stable earnings expectations rather than a major change in outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary around the CFTC’s crypto oversight has raised concerns about regulatory pressure and market criticism, which could create uncertainty for CME’s expanding crypto-related products. CFTC’s Lone Chair Selig Expands Grip Over Crypto and Prediction Markets

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $305.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on CME Group from $362.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised CME Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $305.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $1,097,120.67. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This trade represents a 31.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,297,507. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CME opened at $269.53 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.21. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $284.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $244.56 and a 12 month high of $329.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results 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 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%.CME Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 12.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 44.37%.

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.