Kera Capital Partners Inc. Invests $3.67 Million in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Kera Capital Partners opened a new position in Nasdaq, buying 37,906 shares valued at about $3.67 million in the fourth quarter.
• Nasdaq’s shares were down about 1.3% to $82.24, even as the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $0.96 and revenue of $2.14 billion, both above estimates.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share from $0.27, while analysts remain generally constructive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $107.36.

Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 37,906 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,673,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth $530,100,000. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $900,061,000 after purchasing an additional 3,567,843 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 82.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 6,073,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $589,897,000 after purchasing an additional 2,736,322 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,621,689 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $837,425,000 after purchasing an additional 2,716,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,619,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,735,318,000 after buying an additional 1,404,348 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NDAQ opened at $82.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.97. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.09 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $88.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is 37.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on NDAQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.36.

Nasdaq News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Nasdaq this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Nasdaq favorably, with recent “Overweight” ratings and price targets that sit above the current share price, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Nasdaq was highlighted for expanding non-trading revenue streams, strategic acquisitions, and a diversified business model, which supports longer-term growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Nasdaq announced a rebalance of the Nasdaq-100, adding five new names including AI and space-related companies, which is operationally routine but keeps the index franchise in the spotlight. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also announced a correction to a prior notice involving QMMM Holdings’ anticipated delisting, which is administrative and not a direct operating issue for Nasdaq itself. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment has weakened amid concerns that tokenized-stock trading and potential SEC rule changes could increase competition for traditional exchange operators like Nasdaq. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation worries are also weighing on the stock after recent declines, with some commentary questioning whether Nasdaq’s premium multiple is still justified given the recent pullback. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total transaction of $117,508.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $896,104.98. This represents a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ab Investor acquired 56,782 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 58,439,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,024,603,103.84. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 138,162 shares of company stock worth $11,932,913 over the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world's leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.

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