Viking Fund Management LLC Has $14.09 Million Stock Position in CME Group Inc. $CME

Viking Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 51,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,600 shares during the period. CME Group accounts for approximately 1.6% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in CME Group were worth $14,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CME. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its position in CME Group by 2.7% in the second quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC now owns 2,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, 1248 Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CME Group by 26.8% during the third quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $302.68 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $248.53 and a 52 week high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $108.55 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $301.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.16.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a net margin of 62.45% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.59%.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, Director Bryan T. Durkin sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.65, for a total value of $1,300,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,317,117.55. The trade was a 8.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This represents a 31.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,539 shares of company stock valued at $2,713,821. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Erste Group Bank raised shares of CME Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays increased their price target on CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on CME Group from $302.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on CME Group from $295.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.06.

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.