Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $59.80 Million Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly increased its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. by 2,462.5% during Q1, owning 788,249 shares valued at approximately $59.80 million.
• Nasdaq reported a $1.31 billion revenue for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with an earnings per share of $0.85, up from $0.69 in the same quarter last year.
• Multiple analyst reports have upgraded Nasdaq's stock ratings, with a consensus price target of $96.63, reflecting a positive outlook in the market.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 2,462.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 788,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 757,488 shares during the period. Nasdaq comprises 0.5% of Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned 0.14% of Nasdaq worth $59,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NDAQ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $96.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.63.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.2%

NDAQ stock opened at $96.22 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $88.02 and a 200-day moving average of $81.12. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.33 and a fifty-two week high of $97.07. The company has a market capitalization of $55.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.01, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.96.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.17, for a total transaction of $187,702.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 94,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,440,475.52. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total value of $664,240.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 211,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,552,957.15. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,304 shares of company stock valued at $2,686,833 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Company 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.

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