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

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in 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. Based on an average trading volume of 2,070,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CME. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $236.13.

CME Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of CME Group stock traded up $0.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $248.88. 1,762,007 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,808,418. The stock has a market cap of $89.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.57. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $236.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $227.00. CME Group has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $253.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. As a group, analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a boost from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group's payout ratio is 47.57%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CME. Creative Planning lifted its position in CME Group by 9.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,309,000 after acquiring an additional 4,354 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 34.4% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 25.4% in the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,498 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $637,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.