Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Acquires 13,000 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 72,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in CME Group were worth $19,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caldwell Trust Co boosted its holdings in CME Group by 116.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in CME Group during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter worth about $30,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.59.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $302.48 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $278.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $273.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $109.07 billion, a PE ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.27. CME Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $244.43 and a twelve month high of $309.35.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about CME Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME is reported to be weighing the launch of the market’s first rare‑earths futures contract, which would create a transparent benchmark for a China‑dominated commodity and could attract new institutional flows and hedging demand. Reuters: CME weighs launching first-ever rare earth futures contract
• Positive Sentiment: CME announced first trades in new cryptocurrency futures for Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK) and Stellar (XLM), broadening its crypto product suite and creating potential incremental clearing, execution and open‑interest revenue. PR Newswire: CME Group Announces First Trades for New Cardano, Chainlink and Stellar Cryptocurrency Futures
• Positive Sentiment: CME plans to launch Single Stock Futures on 50+ major U.S. names (Alphabet, Meta, NVIDIA, Tesla, etc.), expanding addressable volume in equity derivatives and offering capital‑efficient exposures that may draw institutional traders. PR Newswire: CME Group to Launch Single Stock Futures
• Positive Sentiment: Prediction‑market volumes (notably around Super Bowl LX) got a boost and received public support from Wedbush, underscoring another high‑growth flow area for CME’s clearing and execution businesses. GlobeNewswire: Wedbush Supports CME Group Prediction Markets
• Neutral Sentiment: Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund disclosed adding ~38,147 shares of CME (~$10.4M), a meaningful institutional buy that supports demand, though it’s one fund’s portfolio move. QuiverQuant: Fund Update – Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $266 — an upgrade in analyst conviction but the target is below current trading levels, so its market impact is mixed. AmericanBankingNews: Goldman Sachs Increases Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose earlier in the quarter to ~5.2M shares (about 1.4% of float) with a ~2.8 days‑to‑cover figure; some later reports appear inconsistent, but higher shorting can add downside pressure if sentiment shifts. (Data compiled from filings and market data.)

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,737,468.20. The trade was a 27.53% 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, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $809,700. This represents a 21.70% 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.

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.