Employees Retirement System of Texas Has $13.56 Million Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Employees Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 50,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,020 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in CME Group were worth $13,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CME Group in the second quarter valued at about $1,571,447,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $636,487,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 107.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,502,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $406,029,000 after buying an additional 777,571 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $164,648,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,176,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,695,313,000 after acquiring an additional 532,549 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CME shares. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $264.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CME Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.53.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 43,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,317,117.55. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at $809,700. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,248 shares of company stock worth $1,616,700. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target on CME to $347 (from $333) while keeping a “neutral” rating — the higher target gives investors more upside potential and likely supported buying interest. Rothschild price-target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually high options activity was flagged on CME, which often precedes directional moves as traders position ahead of catalysts (can amplify short-term upside). Options trading alert
• Neutral Sentiment: CME announced its Q1 2026 earnings release and conference call date (April 22, 2026). The scheduled report is a near-term catalyst that could drive volatility but is routine in itself. Earnings release announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Terry Duffy publicly warned that U.S. government intervention in oil futures would be a “biblical disaster” — a high-profile defense of market integrity that highlights regulatory risk but also positions CME as protective of exchange-based price discovery. FT: US intervention warning
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports for March appear to show zero shares (data likely erroneous or delayed) — no reliable signal from the published short-interest figures. (Market volume remains healthy.)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Ken Vroman (Chief Transformation Officer) sold 5,160 shares (~25.7% of his class holdings) on March 12 for roughly $1.59M. Quiver’s roundup shows multiple executive sales over recent months, which can weigh on sentiment even if sales are often for personal reasons. Insider sale details
• Negative Sentiment: Large institutional rebalancing noted in recent quarters (e.g., UBS AM removed a substantial position in Q4 2025). Big fund flows can add selling pressure or reduce available demand. (Source: Quiver summary in the insider activity report.)

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $311.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $294.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $278.66. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $248.53 and a 1 year high of $329.16. The stock has a market cap of $112.22 billion, a PE ratio of 27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

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.