Primecap Management Co. CA Invests $420.60 Million in CME Group Inc. $CME

Key Points

• Primecap Management acquired 1.9 million CME Group shares worth approximately $420.6 million, giving it a 0.53% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 87.75% of the company.
• CME Group exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.99 in EPS and $1.71 billion in revenue, while analysts maintain an overall “Hold” rating with an average price target of $288.56.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, equivalent to $5.20 annually and a 1.9% yield, payable September 25 to shareholders of record September 9.

Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,904,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $420,602,000. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.53% of CME Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in CME Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,749,965,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,523,241,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth $867,313,000. Alphabet Inc. acquired a new position in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $769,376,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in CME Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $629,771,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William R. Shepard acquired 325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $230.57 per share, with a total value of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 260,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,050,111.94. This represents a 0.12% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CME has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $267.00 to $245.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CME Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded CME Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on CME Group from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on CME Group from $310.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $288.56.

CME Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $277.32 on Wednesday. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $218.31 and a 52 week high of $329.16. 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 company's fifty day moving average is $251.75 and its 200-day moving average is $279.35. The company has a market capitalization of $99.72 billion, a PE ratio of 23.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.23.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.11%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CME? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source