KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys 56,000 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 46.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 56,000 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in CME Group were worth $47,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CME. Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $377,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 256.9% during the first quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $971,000 after buying an additional 2,636 shares in the last quarter. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. bought a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $367,000. Fulcrum Equity Management bought a new position in CME Group during the first quarter valued at about $258,000. Finally, Aspire Growth Partners LLC bought a new position in CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $548,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CME traded up $0.70 during trading on Thursday, reaching $277.18. 2,698,316 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,389,225. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $276.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.54. The company has a market cap of $99.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.44. CME Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.25 and a 1-year high of $290.79.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 57.71%. CME Group's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 50.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles P. Carey sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.56, for a total value of $817,680.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,471,824. The trade was a 35.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Derek Sammann sold 4,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.61, for a total value of $1,304,836.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,336 shares in the company, valued at $2,339,164.96. The trade was a 35.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,400 shares of company stock worth $3,152,410 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $269.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $261.93.

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.