Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Shares Bought by National Pension Service

National Pension Service increased its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 581,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,535 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.10% of Nasdaq worth $44,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 7.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,274,000 after purchasing an additional 3,096 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 61.1% in the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 17,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 6,764 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 1.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,268,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $172,098,000 after purchasing an additional 27,622 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,749,000. Finally, FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the first quarter valued at about $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $95.40 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.84 and a 1 year high of $97.63. The stock has a market cap of $54.74 billion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00. The business's fifty day moving average is $90.64 and its 200-day moving average is $82.28. 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 (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.07. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 18.59%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on NDAQ. Wall Street Zen raised Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. UBS Group raised Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $101.00 target price (up previously from $96.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays increased their target price on Nasdaq from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.06.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total value of $1,022,715.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 111,035 shares in the company, valued at $9,867,680.45. The trade was a 9.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total value of $201,006.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,409 shares of company stock valued at $2,887,839 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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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