Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Purchased by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 177,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,312 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $17,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NDAQ. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Argus raised shares of Nasdaq to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.15.

Insider Activity

In other Nasdaq news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 113,611 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total value of $9,706,923.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,965,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,953,765.44. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total transaction of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 215,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,530,126. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 231,002 shares of company stock worth $20,295,941 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $87.91 on Wednesday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.09 and a 52 week high of $101.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $49.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $88.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.08.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Nasdaq's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Nasdaq's payout ratio is currently 32.53%.

About Nasdaq

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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