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

TigerOak Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,309,000. CME Group accounts for 0.8% of TigerOak Management L.L.C.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Planning lifted its position in CME Group by 9.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,309,000 after purchasing an additional 4,354 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC bought a new position in CME Group in the third quarter worth $469,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in CME Group by 1.9% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 51,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,463,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 34.4% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 25.4% in the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $245.48 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $235.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.57. The stock has a market cap of $88.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57. CME Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $253.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted 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 return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CME Group Inc. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program 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 programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other CME Group news, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CME Group from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on CME Group from $258.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.13.

CME Group 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.