CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Short Interest Update

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,320,000 shares, a decline of 8.7% from the December 15th total of 4,730,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,950,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $232.71 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $233.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.93. CME Group has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $249.02. The firm has a market cap of $83.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The company’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $5.80 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CME has been the topic of several analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America lifted their target price on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $229.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $312,062.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,298. This trade represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.96, for a total transaction of $226,960.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,403,279.44. This represents a 8.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CME. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in CME Group by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 62.2% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in CME Group by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.