Short Interest in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Declines By 8.7%

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,320,000 shares, a decrease 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 presently 2.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CME shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.27.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $232.71 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $233.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $219.51. CME Group has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $249.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.03. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.2 EPS for the current year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total transaction of $1,019,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,131,291.92. This represents a 14.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter worth $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in CME Group by 188.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased 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 buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position 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 worth $43,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in CME Group by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CME Group

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.