Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Acquired by Geode Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its Nasdaq stake by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, ending with 12.85 million shares worth about $1.24 billion.
• Nasdaq reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.96 versus $0.93 expected and revenue of $2.14 billion, up 13.7% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share from $0.27, while analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $107.15.

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,851,894 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 378,577 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.25% of Nasdaq worth $1,243,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NDAQ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 6.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,848,406 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 7.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,619,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,735,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404,348 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in 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 worth $2,683,485,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258,964 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the second quarter worth $110,259,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in 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 worth $191,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,580 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total value of $700,222.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 141,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,808,798.70. The trade was a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total value of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 215,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,530,126. This represents a 6.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 231,002 shares of company stock worth $20,295,941 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $91.00 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.09 and a fifty-two week high of $101.79. The stock has a market cap of $51.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $88.05 and a 200-day moving average of $90.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The company 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price objective on Nasdaq in a report on Friday, April 24th. Argus raised Nasdaq to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. TD Cowen raised Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.15.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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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