Short Interest in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Declines By 7.1%

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,480,000 shares, a decrease of 7.1% from the January 15th total of 4,820,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,070,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:CME traded down $4.63 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $245.48. 1,444,259 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,792,499. The company’s 50 day moving average is $235.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.00. CME Group has a twelve month low of $190.70 and a twelve month high of $253.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $88.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CME Group will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CME. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.13.

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.