Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Takes $36.31 Million Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd initiated a new position in Nasdaq during the first quarter, buying 434,722 shares valued at about $36.3 million.
• Nasdaq reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.96 versus the $0.93 estimate and revenue of $2.14 billion, up 13.7% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share from $0.27, lifting the annualized payout to $1.24 and the yield to about 1.4%.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 434,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $36,308,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd owned 0.08% of Nasdaq as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, major shareholder Ab Investor bought 56,782 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,439,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,024,603,103.84. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 215,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,530,126. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 24,551 shares of company stock valued at $2,225,990 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $91.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.75. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.55 and a 12-month high of $101.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is 37.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on NDAQ. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $113.00 price target (up from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $104.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $113.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $107.42.

Nasdaq Company 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.

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