KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $28.86 Million Investment in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 121,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,859,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd 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. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Stock Performance

Shares of CME Group stock opened at $263.35 on Friday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $267.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $246.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.22.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. On average, equities analysts forecast that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.71%.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CME has been the topic of several analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,686,980. This trade represents a 31.37 % 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, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total transaction of $997,872.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. 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.