MQS Management LLC Invests $402,000 in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 194.6% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 1,509.5% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 338 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the first quarter worth $26,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the first quarter valued at $40,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.17, for a total value of $187,702.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 94,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,440,475.52. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total value of $664,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 211,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,552,957.15. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,613 shares of company stock worth $1,874,659 over the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on NDAQ. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Nasdaq from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $74.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $96.00 price objective on Nasdaq and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.69.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $89.66. 2,104,676 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,287,335. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.21 and a 1 year high of $90.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.75, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average of $84.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.75.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 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 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.09%.

Nasdaq 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.