VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Sells 40,000 Shares of CME Group Inc. $CME

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lowered its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 11.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 311,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 40,000 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in CME Group were worth $84,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 24.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,987,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $548,150,000 after buying an additional 385,225 shares during the period. Victory Financial Group LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 310.2% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 3,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $839,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna bought a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,389,000. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in CME Group by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 64,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,898,000 after purchasing an additional 5,914 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in CME Group by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,312,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $637,300,000 after purchasing an additional 225,449 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Harold Eugene Jr. Ford sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.53, for a total value of $263,530.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,511.23. This represents a 47.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,737,468.20. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on CME Group from $313.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on CME Group from $201.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of CME Group from $264.00 to $263.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $290.82.

CME Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: CME is called out as a potential beneficiary if bitcoin stages a comeback — analysts highlight CME among a handful of stocks that could gain from renewed crypto ETF and futures flows, which would support trading volumes and fee revenue. Crypto Comeback in 2026? 4 Stocks to Ride the Bitcoin Rally
• Neutral Sentiment: Street consensus remains mixed—brokerages recently assigned an average “Hold” rating to CME, indicating limited near‑term upside from analyst revisions alone. CME Group Inc. Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: General investing commentary (year‑end dividend/sector roundups) mentions broader exchange and dividend themes but is unlikely to drive intraday moves in CME shares. My New Year’s Resolution For 2026: Invest $10,000 In These 5 Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: CME’s decision to raise margin requirements on precious‑metals contracts triggered a sharp liquidation in silver and other metals — the move reduced short‑term trading activity and drew public criticism from bullion market participants, weighing on CME’s metals franchise and today’s sentiment. Silver plunges over 10% to $72 after CME raises margin requirements
• Negative Sentiment: Live market coverage shows the margin hike prompted large intraday swings across global metals markets (COMEX, MCX) and pressured related trading volumes — a direct operational impact for an exchange that earns fees on futures activity. Surging silver and gold slide after CME raises margin requirements
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure in crypto derivatives: Binance has overtaken CME in bitcoin futures open interest amid institutional repositioning, which could limit CME’s share gains from any crypto rally and pressure fee growth. Binance Tops CME in Bitcoin Futures Open Interest Amid Institutional Selloffs

CME Group Stock Down 0.9%

CME Group stock opened at $275.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50-day moving average is $273.50 and its 200-day moving average is $272.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.28. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $224.62 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.61% and a net margin of 58.84%.CME Group’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 48.45%.

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.