Here is What Hedge Funds Think About CBOE Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ:CBOE) – NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ), Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE:APO)

CBOE Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ:CBOE) has seen an increase in hedge fund sentiment lately.

To the average investor, there are tons of methods market participants can use to monitor Mr. Market. A pair of the best are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top money managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a significant margin (see just how much).

Just as beneficial, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of stimuli for an insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if investors know where to look (learn more here).

Consequently, it’s important to take a gander at the key action surrounding CBOE Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ:CBOE).

Hedge fund activity in CBOE Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ:CBOE)

Heading into 2013, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 38% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Murray Stahl’s Horizon Asset Management had the most valuable position in CBOE Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ:CBOE), worth close to $65 million, comprising 2% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, which held a $49 million position; 0% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other peers that hold long positions include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

Consequently, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, established the largest position in CBOE Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ:CBOE). Citadel Investment Group had 16 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also initiated a $3 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital, Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp, and David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments.

What have insiders been doing with CBOE Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ:CBOE)?

Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last half-year time frame, CBOE Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ:CBOE) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to CBOE Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ:CBOE). These stocks are Apollo Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AINV), NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ), Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC), A.F.P Provida SA (ADR) (NYSE:PVD), and Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE:APO). All of these stocks are in the diversified investments industry and their market caps are similar to CBOE’s market cap.

With the results shown by Insider Monkey’s tactics, everyday investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and CBOE Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ:CBOE) is an important part of this process.