Engineers Gate Manager LP Sells 16,614 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP cut its Nasdaq position by 77.5% in the second quarter, selling 16,614 shares and retaining 4,831 shares valued at approximately $381,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds still own 72.47% of Nasdaq’s stock.
• Nasdaq reported quarterly EPS of $1.07, exceeding the $0.98 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 14.9% year over year to $2.53 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31, or $1.24 annually, yielding about 1.3%.
• Wall Street maintains a favorable outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.30 versus the stock’s recent price of $94.55; however, insiders have sold 44,047 shares worth roughly $4.14 million over the past three months.

Engineers Gate Manager LP lowered its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 77.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,614 shares during the quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NDAQ. MKP Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth $33,996,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Nasdaq by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 717,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,727,000 after buying an additional 48,286 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its stake in Nasdaq by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 673,919 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,458,000 after buying an additional 68,368 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth $530,100,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Nasdaq by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,063,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $103,276,000 after buying an additional 26,185 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $94.55 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.84. The company has a market capitalization of $52.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.57, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.97. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.55 and a 1-year high of $101.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 1,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $106,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 100,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,506,935. This trade represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 44,047 shares of company stock valued at $4,139,191. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $111.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.30.

Key Stories Impacting Nasdaq

Here are the key news stories impacting Nasdaq this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nasdaq hosted presentations at the Bank of America Financials CEO Conference and the Autonomous Future of Commerce Symposium. The events may provide insight into management’s strategy and growth outlook, although no specific new financial guidance was reported. Bank of America conference transcript Autonomous symposium transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Nasdaq reported that short interest across 3,862 Nasdaq Global Market securities declined to 18.12 billion shares as of September 15, from 18.21 billion previously. The days-to-cover ratio edged up to 3.55 days from 3.52 days, indicating little material change in overall market positioning. Nasdaq mid-month short-interest release
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports listed short interest in Nasdaq, Inc. at zero shares, implying a zero-day days-to-cover ratio. This appears inconsistent with normal market data and may reflect a reporting or data-classification issue rather than a meaningful change in investor sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ) from “strong buy” to “hold.” The rating change is the clearest negative catalyst in the latest reports and may pressure the stock by signaling reduced near-term upside.
• Negative Sentiment: Executive Vice President Jeremy Skule sold 1,125 shares for approximately $106,875 at an average price of $95.00. The sale reduced his direct holdings by 1.11%, a relatively small transaction but a modest negative signal for sentiment. SEC insider transaction filing

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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