Machina Capital S.A.S. Purchases 13,926 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 13,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,281,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 168.0% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NDAQ shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Nasdaq from $135.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.53.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $108.65 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.55 and a fifty-two week high of $111.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $60.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.95.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.47 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.81% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 33.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.75, for a total transaction of $538,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 109,306 shares in the company, valued at $11,777,721.50. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $106,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 96,561 shares in the company, valued at $9,173,295. This represents a 1.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 32,452 shares of company stock valued at $3,366,669 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Profile

Nasdaq, Inc. is a global technology and financial markets company best known for operating the Nasdaq Stock Market. Its exchange services support the listing and trading of equities and other financial products, and the company provides market data and trading technology to exchanges, brokers, investors, and other financial institutions. Nasdaq also develops software and services for financial institutions and corporations, including solutions for regulatory compliance, market surveillance, and the detection and prevention of financial crime.