Aperture Investors LLC Buys 22,312 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Aperture Investors LLC increased its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. by 23.2% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 22,312 shares, bringing its total holdings to 118,419 shares valued at approximately $8.98 million.
• Nasdaq recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.85, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.78, with a revenue of $1.31 billion, marking a 12.7% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, set to be paid on September 26th, with a current dividend yield of 1.1%.

Aperture Investors LLC increased its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 23.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,419 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 22,312 shares during the period. Nasdaq makes up about 1.1% of Aperture Investors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Aperture Investors LLC's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $8,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 194.6% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 1,509.5% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 338 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total value of $1,022,715.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 111,035 shares in the company, valued at $9,867,680.45. The trade was a 9.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total transaction of $201,006.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,837,694.99. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,409 shares of company stock worth $2,223,599 over the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NDAQ. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $101.00 price target (up previously from $96.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group raised shares of Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.06.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Nasdaq stock traded down $1.15 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $93.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,107,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,254,373. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.36. The company has a market capitalization of $53.70 billion, a PE ratio of 36.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.02. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.84 and a 52 week high of $97.63.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Nasdaq's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.54%.

Nasdaq Profile

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.