DNB Asset Management AS Raises Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

DNB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 90,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,822 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $8,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,652,000 after acquiring an additional 10,110 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 22.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 2,584 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 345.5% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 4.4% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 11,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $92.60 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $87.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.74. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.09 and a 52 week high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This is an increase from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. TD Cowen raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total transaction of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 215,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,530,126. The trade was a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total transaction of $117,508.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,104.98. The trade was a 11.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 231,002 shares of company stock worth $20,295,941. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.