CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Short Interest Up 18.2% in March

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,420,000 shares, an increase of 18.2% from the March 15th total of 3,740,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,750,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company's shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CME. Power Corp of Canada bought a new position in CME Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $229.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on CME Group from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $215.70.

CME Group Stock Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ:CME traded down $3.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $209.50. 1,582,601 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,640,531. The company has a market cap of $75.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.62, a P/E/G ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group has a one year low of $175.73 and a one year high of $223.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $213.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.57.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.10. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 57.83%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that CME Group will post 9.56 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.86%.

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.