Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Acquired by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its Nasdaq stake by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 2.86 million shares valued at about $277.3 million.
• Nasdaq reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.96 versus $0.93 expected and revenue of $2.14 billion versus $1.42 billion expected, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 from $0.27, and analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average target price of $107.15.

Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,855,235 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 45,783 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.50% of Nasdaq worth $277,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NDAQ. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,652,000 after acquiring an additional 10,110 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 22.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 2,584 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 345.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the period. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 4.4% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 11,386 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Down 0.1%

NDAQ opened at $90.88 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average is $87.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $51.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.98. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $77.09 and a one year high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.Nasdaq's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total value of $1,408,258.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 215,208 shares in the company, valued at $19,530,126. This represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $12,808,798.70. This represents a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 231,002 shares of company stock valued at $20,295,941 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NDAQ. Barclays upped 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. TD Cowen raised Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.15.

Nasdaq 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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