Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 154,780 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 12.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,354,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 154,780 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.24% of Nasdaq worth $102,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at about $110,867,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in Nasdaq by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 51,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,978,000 after buying an additional 6,166 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,036 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,085,000 after buying an additional 5,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in Nasdaq by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 7,231 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total transaction of $47,179.17. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,980 shares in the company, valued at $4,450,783.80. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. This trade represents a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,616 shares of company stock valued at $1,813,598 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NDAQ traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $87.11. 1,050,697 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,955,162. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.28 and a 1-year high of $87.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $77.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $50.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.00.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. Nasdaq's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This is an increase from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Nasdaq's payout ratio is currently 49.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Nasdaq from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Nasdaq from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $74.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.50.

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.