Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 89,340 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its Nasdaq stake by 10.2%, adding 89,340 shares to hold 965,988 shares (about 0.17% of the company) valued at roughly $93.37 million at quarter-end.
• Nasdaq beat quarterly expectations with $0.96 EPS (vs. $0.93) and $2.14 billion in revenue, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 (annualized $1.24), payable June 26, implying a 1.4% yield.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently, disposing of a total of 231,002 shares (about $20.3 million) over the past 90 days, including sales by SVP Michelle Lynn Daly and EVP Bradley J. Peterson.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 965,988 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 89,340 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.17% of Nasdaq worth $93,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,275,902,000 after acquiring an additional 3,848,406 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 7.7% during the third 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 last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,627,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,683,485,000 after buying an additional 1,258,964 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter valued at $110,259,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 129.0% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,159,556 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $191,013,000 after buying an additional 1,216,580 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total value 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 trade represents a 11.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 141,035 shares in the company, valued at $12,808,798.70. This represents a 5.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 231,002 shares of company stock valued at $20,295,941 over the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NDAQ shares. Argus raised Nasdaq to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.15.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $89.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.09 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $86.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.66. The company has a market cap of $50.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.98.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.35%.

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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