Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Holdings Boosted by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. by 17.0% in the first quarter, bringing their total to 471,417 shares valued at approximately $35.76 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted their stakes in Nasdaq, contributing to a total institutional ownership of 72.47% of the company's stock.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for Nasdaq, with Barclays and Deutsche Bank setting targets of $109.00 and $105.00 respectively, indicating a favorable outlook for the company.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 17.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 471,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 68,445 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned about 0.08% of Nasdaq worth $35,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the first quarter valued at approximately $8,146,000. Cynosure Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 11.8% in the first quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 4,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 10.7% in the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 12,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 42.8% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 321,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $24,372,000 after purchasing an additional 96,247 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total value of $201,006.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,551 shares in the company, valued at $8,837,694.99. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.45, for a total transaction of $812,173.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $829,742.55. This trade represents a 49.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,409 shares of company stock valued at $2,887,839 over the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $95.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.06.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.4%

Nasdaq stock opened at $96.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.84 and a 52 week high of $97.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $89.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.00.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.07. Nasdaq had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. Nasdaq's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is 41.54%.

Nasdaq Company 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.

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