CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Short Interest Down 25.3% in July

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,460,000 shares, a decline of 25.3% from the July 15th total of 4,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on CME Group from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $187.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $187.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $213.27.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock traded down $2.56 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $205.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,320,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,952,915. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.03. CME Group has a 1-year low of $190.70 and a 1-year high of $223.80. The company has a market capitalization of $73.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.52.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 56.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group will post 9.8 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $586,320.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,399,936.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other CME Group news, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.52, for a total transaction of $211,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,241 shares in the company, valued at $3,858,336.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total value of $586,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,399,936.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,650 shares of company stock worth $928,776. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $959,260,000. Capital International Investors grew its stake in CME Group by 24.1% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,809,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,403,557,000 after acquiring an additional 3,069,806 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CME Group by 137.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,260,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309,097 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth about $253,563,000. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,589,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,072,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,575 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

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.