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

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,213,842 shares, a drop of 15.6% from the December 31st total of 4,995,418 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,106,738 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,106,738 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on CME Group from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $297.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Argus dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $308.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.18.

CME Group Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $293.07 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $275.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.52. CME Group has a 52-week low of $238.12 and a 52-week high of $296.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.27.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 25,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.55, for a total value of $6,738,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,737,468.20. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caldwell Trust Co raised its position in shares of CME Group by 116.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About CME Group

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.