Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Bought by Neuberger Berman Group LLC

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in Nasdaq by 1.6% in Q3 to 2,734,130 shares (an additional 43,944 shares) worth about $241.8 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 72.47% of the company.
• Nasdaq beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.96 EPS versus $0.92 expected and revenue of $2.12 billion (up 13.4% year‑over‑year); the company has a market cap near $50.3 billion and a P/E of about 28.6.
• Nasdaq declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share (annualized $1.08, yield 1.2%, payable March 30), while insiders have sold 604,500 shares in the past 90 days (including CEO Adena Friedman’s 300,000‑share sale); analysts’ consensus rating is Buy with a $103.80 target.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,734,130 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 43,944 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 0.48% of Nasdaq worth $241,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Nasdaq by 41.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 77,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,819,000 after acquiring an additional 22,685 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the second quarter valued at $1,511,000. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,561,000 after purchasing an additional 19,078 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 800,654 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $71,594,000 after purchasing an additional 72,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% during the 3rd 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $88.43 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $64.84 and a one year high of $101.79. The company has a market cap of $50.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.03.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq's payout ratio is 34.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% 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, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total value of $29,073,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at $186,542,349.73. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 604,500 shares of company stock valued at $58,440,045. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NDAQ. Argus raised Nasdaq to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. TD Cowen raised shares of Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.80.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NDAQ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.