Viking Fund Management LLC Purchases New Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 26,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,131,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 188.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 120.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in shares of CME Group by 62.2% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 52.4% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $232.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $249.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $233.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $220.60. The stock has a market cap of $83.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $5.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous dividend of $2.50. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is 48.37%.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CME. Citigroup lowered shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $210.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America upped their price objective on CME Group from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on CME Group from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $229.27.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Sunil Cutinho sold 4,500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.64, for a total value of $1,019,880.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,131,291.92. The trade was a 14.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.92, for a total transaction of $89,168.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,067 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold 7,274 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,071 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% 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.