Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.94 Million in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the first quarter, purchasing 22,900 shares valued at about $1.94 million.
• Nasdaq reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.96 versus estimates of $0.93 and revenue of $2.14 billion, plus 13.7% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 from $0.27, while analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $106.79.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 22,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,944,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,106,000 after buying an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,652,000 after buying an additional 10,110 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 22.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 2,584 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 345.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the period. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 4.4% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 11,386 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total transaction of $700,222.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 141,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,808,798.70. This represents a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total transaction of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 215,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,530,126. The trade was a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,551 shares of company stock worth $2,225,990. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on NDAQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $104.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.79.

Nasdaq Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $78.82 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $44.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.97. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.55 and a 52-week high of $101.79. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $87.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.46.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.35%.

Nasdaq Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.