Yousif Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in CME Group Inc. $CME

Yousif Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,098 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $12,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in CME Group by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,660,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in CME Group by 103.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after buying an additional 121,707 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,941,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 1,325.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,497,000 after acquiring an additional 21,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L2 Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CME opened at $302.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $248.53 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.26. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $306.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $284.06.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.59%.

More CME Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME reported record international ADV of 11.4 million contracts in Q1 (up 30% YoY), with all major product categories hitting quarterly records — a direct revenue/fee tailwind. CME Group International ADV Reaches Record 11.4 Million Contracts in Q1 2026
• Positive Sentiment: CME will launch Avalanche (AVAX) and Sui (SUI) futures (micro and standard sizes) on May 4 pending regulatory approval — expanding crypto product mix and potential new volume streams. CME Group to Continue Expansion of Regulated Crypto Suite
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and analysis highlight CME’s broader 24/7 crypto initiative and the potential to deepen its derivatives moat and earnings resilience as institutional crypto volumes migrate to regulated venues. Does CME Group’s 24/7 Crypto Push Recast Its Derivatives Moat
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its CME price target to $344 (from $312) while keeping an Equal Weight rating — a notable lift to street valuation and investor sentiment. Barclays adjusts price target on CME Group to $344 from $312
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains constructive — an average “Moderate Buy” from brokers, and a Raymond James analyst flagged upside potential, reinforcing buy-side interest. CME Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy”
• Neutral Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating and $305 PT — a neutral institutional signal that tempers some of the bullish momentum. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks flagged CME among finance names that could beat earnings, which is supportive but speculative ahead of official reports. These 2 Finance Stocks Could Beat Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Large block selling in crude futures (reported ~$950M bearish bet) referenced CME’s WTI market — such one-off blocks drive intraday volume (revenue-positive) but are event-driven and volatile. Oil Futures See $950 Million Bearish Bet
• Neutral Sentiment: Evernorth’s amended SEC filing ties XRP pricing to CME CF rates — a reminder that CME benchmark rates influence token-linked financing structures, but direct impact on CME economics is indirect. Evernorth Amended SEC Filing Deepens XRP Role

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of CME Group in a report on Wednesday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $305.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $809,700. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. The trade was a 31.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About CME Group

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.