Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management cut its Nasdaq stake by 38.7% in the first quarter, selling 339,012 shares and retaining 538,084 shares valued at approximately $45.7 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 72.47% of NDAQ.
• Nasdaq reported quarterly earnings of $1.07 per share, exceeding the $0.98 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 14.9% year over year to $2.53 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, representing a 1.3% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $109.73, above the reported share price of $93.94.

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 38.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 538,084 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 339,012 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Nasdaq worth $45,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ opened at $93.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.40. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $76.55 and a one year high of $101.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $52.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.99.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 18.38% and a net margin of 22.60%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, major shareholder Ab Investor purchased 56,782 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 58,439,208 shares in the company, valued at $5,024,603,103.84. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $111.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.73.

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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