Viking Fund Management LLC Sells 1,400 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Viking Fund Management LLC decreased its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $6,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,243,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,952,273,000 after acquiring an additional 326,623 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,389,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,946,717,000 after acquiring an additional 104,697 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 89.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,280,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,923,047,000 after acquiring an additional 3,921,278 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,107,389,000. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its holdings in shares of CME Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,081,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $947,821,000 after acquiring an additional 61,908 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME opened at $290.71 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $290.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $270.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $251.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $104.76 billion, a PE ratio of 30.06, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. CME Group’s payout ratio is 50.30%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total transaction of $817,680.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,471,824. This represents a 35.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total transaction of $141,210.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. The trade was a 12.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,147,935 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on CME Group from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Erste Group Bank downgraded CME Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $256.80.

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.