Short Interest in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Drops By 15.6%

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,696,093 shares, a decrease of 15.6% from the March 15th total of 5,566,514 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,035,239 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on CME Group from $313.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank raised CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on CME Group from $347.00 to $340.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $309.94.

CME Group Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of CME opened at $287.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $103.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.26. CME Group has a 12 month low of $251.90 and a 12 month high of $329.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $306.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. CME Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,317,117.55. This trade represents a 8.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total transaction of $1,097,120.67. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,397,597.04. This trade represents a 31.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,539 shares of company stock worth $2,713,821. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CME. West Family Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in CME Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,147,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its holdings in CME Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlatl Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Company 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.