BDF Gestion Raises Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• BDF Gestion increased its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. by 162.7% during the second quarter, bringing their total shares to 31,972, valued at $2.86 million.
• Nasdaq reported an earnings per share of $0.85 for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.78 and demonstrating a 12.7% year-over-year revenue growth to $1.31 billion.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share with an ex-dividend date of September 12, reflecting a 1.2% dividend yield.

BDF Gestion boosted its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 162.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,803 shares during the period. BDF Gestion's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $2,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,979,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,019,037,000 after purchasing an additional 403,248 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 5.1% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,433,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,550,115,000 after acquiring an additional 993,553 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 1.2% in the first quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,693,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $659,487,000 after acquiring an additional 101,983 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Nasdaq by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,785,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $438,854,000 after purchasing an additional 484,750 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 40.8% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,494,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $416,795,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,057 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Nasdaq stock traded up $0.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $89.57. The stock had a trading volume of 13,438,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,715,163. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $93.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.62. The stock has a market cap of $51.39 billion, a PE ratio of 34.45, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.84 and a 12 month high of $97.63.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm 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%. The business's revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NDAQ. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.06.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total transaction of $201,006.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 92,551 shares in the company, valued at $8,837,694.99. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total transaction of $1,022,715.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 111,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,867,680.45. The trade was a 9.39% 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 in the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nasdaq Company 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.