Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Acquired by Eventide Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. by 22.8%, owning approximately 471,529 shares worth $35.75 million following an acquisition of additional shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Invesco Ltd., also raised their stakes, leading to institutional investors owning 72.47% of Nasdaq's stock.
• Nasdaq recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.85, exceeding estimates, and announced a $0.27 dividend with a yield of 1.2% for shareholders of record.

Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 22.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 471,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 87,433 shares during the quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Nasdaq worth $35,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Nasdaq by 1.1% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 450,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,204,000 after acquiring an additional 4,754 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Nasdaq by 102.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 334,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $24,949,000 after acquiring an additional 168,916 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in Nasdaq by 54.3% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Promethium Advisors LLC raised its position in Nasdaq by 28.9% during the first quarter. Promethium Advisors LLC now owns 27,006 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,049,000 after acquiring an additional 6,057 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its position in Nasdaq by 5.3% during the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 74,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,642,000 after acquiring an additional 3,757 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NDAQ. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $101.00 target price (up previously from $96.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $96.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $95.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.06.

Nasdaq Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NDAQ traded up $1.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $94.99. The company had a trading volume of 3,877,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,255,435. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $93.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.84 and a 1-year high of $97.63. The stock has a market cap of $54.50 billion, a PE ratio of 36.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.07. Nasdaq had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.45, for a total transaction of $812,173.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at $829,742.55. The trade was a 49.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total transaction of $1,022,715.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 111,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,867,680.45. This trade represents a 9.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,409 shares of company stock valued at $2,223,599 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.