Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Acquires New Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Eurizon Capital SGR disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Nasdaq, buying 54,694 shares worth about $5.3 million.
• Nasdaq reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.96 topping estimates and revenue of $2.14 billion beating expectations; revenue also rose 13.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share from $0.27, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $107.15.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 54,694 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,317,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,855,235 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $277,329,000 after purchasing an additional 45,783 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 61,076 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,933,000 after purchasing an additional 13,160 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,872,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,245,000. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,561,000 after purchasing an additional 19,078 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $92.81 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.08. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.09 and a 12-month high of $101.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $52.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This is an increase from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Nasdaq's payout ratio is 32.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total transaction of $700,222.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 141,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,808,798.70. This trade represents a 5.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 10,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,104.98. This trade represents a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 231,002 shares of company stock worth $20,295,941. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on NDAQ. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One investment 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.15.

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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