Bank of America Corp DE Purchases Shares of 7,658,344 Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 7.66 million Nasdaq shares in the second quarter, worth approximately $603.6 million and representing about 1.37% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 72.47% of Nasdaq.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Nasdaq has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $110.30, with several firms recently raising their targets.
• Nasdaq reported quarterly EPS of $1.07, beating estimates by $0.09, while revenue rose 14.9% year over year to $2.53 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, equivalent to a 1.4% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 7,658,344 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $603,631,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 1.37% of Nasdaq at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $111.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $113.00 price objective (up from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $110.30.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $89.23 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $94.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $49.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.97. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.55 and a fifty-two week high of $101.79.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Nasdaq's payout ratio is presently 36.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bradley Peterson sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $1,203,930.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 128,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,881,214.73. This represents a 9.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 1,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.22, for a total transaction of $105,997.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 101,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,534,875.56. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,922 shares of company stock worth $4,032,316. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc NASDAQ: NDAQ operates financial markets and provides technology, data and analytics services to exchanges, brokers, institutional investors, corporations and other financial institutions. The company is best known for operating the Nasdaq Stock Market, a major U.S. equities exchange and a prominent venue for technology and growth companies.

Nasdaq's businesses include listings, trading, market data, indexes, clearing and market infrastructure solutions. Through its technology platforms, the company provides exchange operators and financial institutions with systems for trading, surveillance, risk management, regulatory compliance and other market functions.

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