Czech National Bank Purchases 5,310 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Czech National Bank raised its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 95,036 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,310 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $7,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total value of $47,179.17. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,450,783.80. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,616 shares of company stock worth $1,813,598 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "cautious" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Nasdaq from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Nasdaq from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.50.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $84.00. 3,353,627 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,942,165. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.23 billion, a PE ratio of 43.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50 day moving average price is $76.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.39. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.28 and a 1-year high of $84.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. Nasdaq's revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Nasdaq's payout ratio is presently 49.09%.

About Nasdaq

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.