B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Purchases New Shares in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired 29,490 Nasdaq shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $2.3 million. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of Nasdaq’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with Nasdaq receiving a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $110.30; several firms recently raised their targets to between $105 and $120.
• Nasdaq exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.07 in adjusted earnings per share and $2.53 billion in revenue, up 14.9% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, representing a 1.3% annualized yield.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 29,490 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,324,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,855,235 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $277,329,000 after buying an additional 45,783 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 61,076 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,933,000 after buying an additional 13,160 shares in the last quarter. MKP Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,996,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,245,000. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,872,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $113.00 price objective (up from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $110.30.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ opened at $98.22 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.55 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $89.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.04. The company has a market capitalization of $54.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.09. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Nasdaq's revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is 36.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Ab Investor purchased 56,782 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 58,439,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,024,603,103.84. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $1,203,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 128,293 shares in the company, valued at $11,881,214.73. This trade represents a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 41,797 shares of company stock valued at $3,926,319. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

About Nasdaq

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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