Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. cut its Nasdaq stake by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 299,016 shares and leaving it with 2,628,315 shares valued at about $255.3 million.
• Analysts remain constructive on Nasdaq: the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a $107.15 average price target, and several firms recently raised targets or upgraded the stock.
• Nasdaq reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $0.96 beating estimates and revenue of $2.14 billion topping forecasts, while also increasing its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share.

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,628,315 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 299,016 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.46% of Nasdaq worth $255,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 61,076 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,933,000 after buying an additional 13,160 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 22,685 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,275,902,000 after buying an additional 3,848,406 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 3.3% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,561,000 after buying an additional 19,078 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth $4,872,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on NDAQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen upgraded Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total value of $700,222.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 141,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,808,798.70. This trade represents a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total value of $117,508.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $896,104.98. This trade represents a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 231,002 shares of company stock valued at $20,295,941. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $90.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $51.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $87.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.69. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.09 and a 12-month 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.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.Nasdaq's revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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