Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Acquires Shares of 25,473 Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired 25,473 shares of Nasdaq, Inc. for approximately $2.28 million, representing 0.8% of its total holdings.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, have increased their stakes in Nasdaq, with Vanguard now owning over 52.9 million shares valued at $4.02 billion.
• Brokerages have raised their price targets for Nasdaq, with Deutsche Bank increasing its target from $97 to $105 and Royal Bank of Canada adjusting theirs from $95 to $108, both issuing a "buy" rating.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 25,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,278,000. Nasdaq comprises 0.8% of Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,979,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,019,037,000 after buying an additional 403,248 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Nasdaq by 5.1% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,433,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,550,115,000 after purchasing an additional 993,553 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P increased its position in Nasdaq by 1.2% in the first quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,693,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $659,487,000 after purchasing an additional 101,983 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Nasdaq by 9.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,785,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $438,854,000 after purchasing an additional 484,750 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Nasdaq by 40.8% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,494,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $416,795,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,057 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 92,551 shares in the company, valued at $8,837,694.99. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was 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 approximately $829,742.55. This represents a 49.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on NDAQ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $95.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $96.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.31.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $86.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.98. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $93.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.84 and a 52 week high of $97.63.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.54%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NDAQ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.