BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Grows Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its Nasdaq stake by 32.8% in the first quarter, buying 19,249 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 77,898 shares worth about $6.6 million.
• Nasdaq reported strong first-quarter results, with EPS of $0.96 topping estimates and revenue of $2.14 billion, a 13.7% increase from a year earlier.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share from $0.27, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with an average price target of $106.79.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 32.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,249 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $6,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,916,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,819,727,000 after acquiring an additional 268,481 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,627,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,683,485,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258,964 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,878,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,930,808,000 after purchasing an additional 259,408 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,851,894 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,243,807,000 after purchasing an additional 378,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in Nasdaq by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $900,061,000 after purchasing an additional 3,567,843 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NDAQ opened at $82.61 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.88, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.97. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.09 and a 52 week high of $101.79. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $88.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This is a boost from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Nasdaq's payout ratio is presently 37.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total value of $117,508.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $896,104.98. This trade represents a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total transaction of $1,408,258.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 215,208 shares in the company, valued at $19,530,126. The trade was a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 138,162 shares of company stock valued at $11,932,913. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NDAQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Loop Capital set a $113.00 target price on Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.79.

Nasdaq 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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