Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Acquired by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its Nasdaq position by 3.9% in the first quarter, acquiring 32,243 shares and bringing its holdings to 869,655 shares valued at approximately $73.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 72.47% of Nasdaq.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with Nasdaq receiving a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $109.73. Zacks Research recently upgraded the stock to “strong buy.”
• Nasdaq reported quarterly EPS of $1.07, beating estimates of $0.98, while revenue rose 14.9% year over year to $2.53 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, equivalent to a 1.3% annual yield.

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 869,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 32,243 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.15% of Nasdaq worth $73,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,855,235 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $277,329,000 after buying an additional 45,783 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Nasdaq by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 61,076 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,933,000 after acquiring an additional 13,160 shares during the last quarter. MKP Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,996,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,245,000. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,872,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $109.73.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 11,010 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.35, for a total value of $1,060,813.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 205,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,751,846.35. The trade was a 5.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $1,203,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 128,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,881,214.73. This trade represents a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,797 shares of company stock valued at $3,926,319. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $94.19 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $87.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.36. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.55 and a twelve month high of $101.79. The company has a market capitalization of $52.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.09. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Nasdaq's payout ratio is currently 36.15%.

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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