Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Purchases 118,572 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments initiated a position in Nasdaq, buying 118,572 shares worth approximately $10.91 million in the third quarter.
• Nasdaq reported quarterly EPS of $1.04, beating the $1.02 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 12.6% year over year to $2.39 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, equivalent to a 1.1% annualized yield; analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with a $113.53 average price target.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 118,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,910,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 9.9% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 4,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its stake in Nasdaq by 108.7% during the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 63,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,815,000 after acquiring an additional 32,912 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the third quarter worth $261,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Nasdaq by 406.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 35,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,220,000 after purchasing an additional 28,095 shares during the period. Finally, Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in Nasdaq by 14.2% in the third quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 13,765 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $109.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.88 billion, a PE ratio of 29.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.95. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.55 and a fifty-two week high of $110.23. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $96.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.81.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.47 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 22.81%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $119.00 to $109.00 in a report on Friday, October 9th. Erste Group Bank began coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, October 30th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Nasdaq from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $113.53.

Insider Activity

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $106,875.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 96,561 shares in the company, valued at $9,173,295. This represents a 1.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 3,987 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.75, for a total transaction of $417,638.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 114,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,973,553.50. This trade represents a 3.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 22,877 shares of company stock worth $2,330,505 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology and market infrastructure company best known for operating the Nasdaq Stock Market, one of the world's largest electronic stock exchanges. The company provides listing services for public companies and operates trading venues for equities, options and other financial products. Its exchange business serves companies, investors and market participants in the United States, as well as through Nasdaq's Nordic and Baltic market operations.

Beyond its exchange activities, Nasdaq provides market data, analytics, indexes and technology used by exchanges, brokers, banks, asset managers and other financial institutions.

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