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

Employees Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 19.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,020 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in CME Group were worth $13,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caldwell Trust Co boosted its stake in CME Group by 116.3% during the third quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key CME Group News

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.)

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $264.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings raised CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.53.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other news, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total value of $91,770.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,647,194.10. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 2,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $809,700. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 5,248 shares of company stock valued at $1,616,700 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME stock opened at $311.19 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $294.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.66. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $248.53 and a fifty-two week high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization 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.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.52 EPS. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.