Primecap Management Co. CA Has $433.09 Million Stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,864,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,230 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 0.52% of CME Group worth $433,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,220,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 7,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of CME Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 93,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,731,000 after buying an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,157,000. Finally, one8zero8 LLC acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $852,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.9 %

CME opened at $263.58 on Tuesday. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $264.95. 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 $94.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $243.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.93.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. As a group, research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $2,888,378.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,453,085.45. The trade was a 34.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at $5,686,980. The trade was a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on CME. Citigroup cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James upgraded shares of CME Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.93.

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.