CPC Advisors LLC slashed its stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME), dumping 18,385 shares in first quarter 2026. That's a 67.9% cut,leaving the firm with 8,708 shares worth around $2.57 million, per recent SEC filing.
Other big players also shuffled their positions in CME Group. Vanguard Group Inc. upped its stake by 1.7% in fourth quarter, now holding 35,895,583 shares valued at $9.8 billion after adding 588,509 shares. State Street Corp bumped up its holdings by 0.4%, totaling 16,144,525 shares worth $4.41 billion after buying 56,725 shares.
Norges Bank jumped in with a new $1.52 billion position in CME Group during same period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp and Ameriprise Financial Inc . both increased stakes by 2.8%, owning 4,924,475 shares and 4,812,914 shares,respectively. Together, institutional investors hold 87.75% of CME Group stock.
Analysts busy with CME Group ratings. TD Cowen cut price target from $340 to $323 but kept “buy” rating. Meanwhile, Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded stock from “neutral” to “buy” with new target of $323. Keefe,Bruyette & Woods also moved CME Group to “outperform” with $305 target.
Despite some optimism,Goldman Sachs stuck with “sell” rating,lowering target from $275 to $267,citing leadership and regulatory risks. Now,twelve analysts call it a buy, four say hold, two recommend sell. Consensus: “Moderate Buy” with average target of $305.18.
Insider action: Hilda Harris Piell sold 5,753 shares on May 18 at average price $304.63, totaling $1.75 million . She still holds 27,702 shares worth around $8.44 million. CEO Terrence A. Duffy offloaded 35,000 shares on May 15 for $10.45 million, cutting his stake by 38.62% to 55,630 shares valued at $16.61 million .
CME Group shares opened at $246.38 Monday, market cap at $89.28 billion . Company reported net margin of 63.19%, return on equity 15.42% in latest earnings,with revenue up 14.5% year-over-year. Analysts expect EPS of 12.28 for current year.
On dividends,CME Group declared quarterly payout of $1.30 per share,payable June 25 to record holders as of June 9. That's an annual dividend of $5.20, yielding 2.1% with payout ratio of 44.37%.
As CME Group navigates leadership changes,analysts say strong capital returns,electronic trading growth could fuel long-term rebound. But legal battle with Commodity Futures Trading Commission over crypto futures casts shadow…
