Invesco Ltd. Acquires 1,592,057 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. by 40.8%, acquiring an additional 1,592,057 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 5.49 million shares valued at $416.8 million.
• In a recent earnings report, Nasdaq surpassed expectations with $1.31 billion in revenue and $0.85 earnings per share, beating the consensus estimate by $0.07.
• Equity analysts have shown confidence in Nasdaq, with multiple upgrades and an average price target increase, translating to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $97.06.

Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 40.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,494,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,592,057 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.96% of Nasdaq worth $416,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upgraded Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, July 25th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $96.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.06.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Nasdaq stock traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $95.40. The company had a trading volume of 2,458,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,326,223. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $64.84 and a one year high of $97.63. The firm has a market cap of $54.74 billion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $90.41 and a 200 day moving average of $82.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.26 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 18.59%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.45, for a total value of $812,173.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,879 shares in the company, valued at $829,742.55. This trade represents a 49.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total transaction of $201,006.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 92,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,837,694.99. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,409 shares of company stock worth $2,887,839 over the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nasdaq Profile

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.