Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 21,100 Shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Primecap Management Co. CA trimmed its holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,787,730 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 21,100 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.50% of CME Group worth $376,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CME. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth $206,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 293.6% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its stake in shares of CME Group by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of CME Group by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Syon Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $366,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CME. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $210.00 target price (down from $235.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. Argus lifted their target price on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $217.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares in the company, valued at $14,226,934.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other CME Group news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.91, for a total value of $8,436,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 67,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,226,934.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.52, for a total value of $211,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,241 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,858,336.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,640 shares of company stock valued at $10,676,444 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME Group stock traded up $2.85 on Friday, hitting $214.92. 1,135,262 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,756,638. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $211.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.35. CME Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.73 and a 52 week high of $223.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.48.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 56.84% and a return on equity of 12.45%. CME Group's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. Research analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.33%.

CME Group Company Profile

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.

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