CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on CME. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on CME Group from $231.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $229.27.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $232.71. 1,908,705 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,567,319. CME Group has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $249.02. 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 firm has a market cap of $83.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.51.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. CME Group's revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $5.80 dividend. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.37%.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy S. Bitsberger sold 1,000 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,589 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,279.44. This trade represents a 8.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total value of $89,168.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,587,935.64. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CME Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in CME Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in CME Group by 11.8% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. boosted its position in CME Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 2,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 10.2% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

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.