Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Makes New $1.24 Million Investment in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Daiichi Life Insurance purchased 15,685 Nasdaq shares worth approximately $1.24 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 72.47% of Nasdaq’s outstanding stock.
• Nasdaq reported quarterly earnings of $1.07 per share, exceeding the $0.98 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 14.9% year over year to $2.53 billion. The stock opened at $98.79, near its 52-week high of $101.79.
• Nasdaq declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, equivalent to a 1.3% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $110.30.

Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,236,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $5,819,727,000 after acquiring an additional 268,481 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Nasdaq during the second quarter worth about $2,931,637,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,878,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,930,808,000 after purchasing an additional 259,408 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,851,894 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,243,807,000 after purchasing an additional 378,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 62.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $900,061,000 after purchasing an additional 3,567,843 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $98.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $55.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $90.00 and a 200-day moving average of $88.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.55 and a 1-year 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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 18.38% and a net margin of 22.60%.Nasdaq's revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $113.00 price target (up from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $111.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $110.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $1,203,930.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 128,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,881,214.73. The trade was a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 11,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.35, for a total value of $1,060,813.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 205,001 shares in the company, valued at $19,751,846.35. The trade was a 5.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,797 shares of company stock valued at $3,926,319. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nasdaq Company 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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