Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Purchases 484,750 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. by 9.1%, holding approximately 5.8 million shares valued at $438.9 million at the end of the 1st quarter.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings on Nasdaq, with a consensus price target now at $97.06 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Nasdaq announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, set to be paid on September 26th, representing an annualized yield of 1.1%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,785,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 484,750 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 1.01% of Nasdaq worth $438,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 194.6% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 1,509.5% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 338 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the first quarter worth $26,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Nasdaq in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NDAQ. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group upgraded Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, July 25th. 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 report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $95.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total value of $1,022,715.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 111,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,867,680.45. This represents a 9.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total value of $201,006.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,837,694.99. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,409 shares of company stock worth $2,887,839 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Nasdaq stock traded up $0.40 on Friday, reaching $96.85. 2,570,080 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,597,520. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $64.84 and a one year high of $97.47. The company has a market capitalization of $55.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.25, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $89.67 and a 200 day moving average of $81.88.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is 41.54%.

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.