Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Purchased by Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in Nasdaq by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 11,939 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 162,837 shares worth about $15.8 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 estimated. Revenue rose 13.7% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share from $0.27, while analysts remain generally positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $107.15.

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 162,837 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,939 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $15,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Nasdaq by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the third quarter worth $45,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of Nasdaq 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 215,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,530,126. The trade was a 6.73% 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, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of Nasdaq 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 directly owned 141,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,808,798.70. This represents a 5.18% 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 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $88.48 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $50.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.98. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.09 and a 52 week high of $101.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.65.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during 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%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price target on Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.15.

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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