TigerOak Management L.L.C. Invests $2.31 Million in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

TigerOak Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,944 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,309,000. CME Group comprises approximately 0.8% of TigerOak Management L.L.C.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in CME Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,284,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,823,964,000 after acquiring an additional 142,692 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,514,040 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $554,707,000 after buying an additional 380,071 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in CME Group by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in CME Group by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,230,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $492,072,000 after buying an additional 237,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in CME Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,981,961 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $437,320,000 after buying an additional 26,642 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Trading Up 1.2 %

CME Group stock traded up $2.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $250.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,171,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,827,433. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $236.29 and a 200-day moving average of $226.68. CME Group Inc. has a one year low of $190.70 and a one year high of $253.53. The stock has a market cap of $90.36 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 6.75 and a beta of 0.57.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current year.

CME Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group's payout ratio is currently 47.57%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In related news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,453,085.45. This represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CME. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CME Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $236.13.

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.