AlphaCore Capital LLC Takes Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• AlphaCore Capital LLC opened a new position in Nasdaq, buying 12,815 shares valued at about $1.245 million in the fourth quarter. Other large institutions also boosted their holdings, and hedge funds/institutions now own 72.47% of the company.
• Nasdaq reported strong first-quarter results, with earnings of $0.96 per share beating estimates and revenue of $2.14 billion topping forecasts. Revenue rose 13.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share from $0.27, implying a 1.4% yield. Meanwhile, several analysts remained bullish, with the consensus rating at Moderate Buy and an average target price of $107.15.

AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 12,815 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,245,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Nasdaq by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 61,076 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,933,000 after acquiring an additional 13,160 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 41.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 77,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,819,000 after purchasing an additional 22,685 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,561,000 after purchasing an additional 19,078 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,275,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,848,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 129.2% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 55,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,877,000 after purchasing an additional 31,081 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NDAQ. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Argus raised shares of Nasdaq to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.15.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $91.06 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.71. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.09 and a 12 month high of $101.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.50 billion, a PE ratio of 27.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Nasdaq's payout ratio is presently 32.53%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total transaction of $700,222.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 141,035 shares in the company, valued at $12,808,798.70. The trade was a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 113,611 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total value of $9,706,923.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,965,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,953,765.44. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 231,002 shares of company stock worth $20,295,941 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.

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