Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Stock Holdings Lifted by Fortem Financial Group LLC

Key Points

• Fortem Financial Group LLC increased its Nasdaq stake by 215.7% in the first quarter, ending with 25,780 shares valued at about $2.19 million.
• Nasdaq reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.96 versus estimates of $0.93 and revenue of $2.14 billion, above expectations and up 13.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share from $0.27, bringing the annualized payout to $1.24 and a yield of about 1.5%.

Fortem Financial Group LLC grew its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 215.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,614 shares during the period. Fortem Financial Group LLC's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $2,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.36.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $82.24 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.09 and a 12-month high of $101.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $88.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.77, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.97.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.35%.

Insider Activity

In other Nasdaq news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total transaction of $117,508.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,089 shares in the company, valued at $896,104.98. This represents a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ab Investor purchased 56,782 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $85.98 per share, with a total value of $4,882,116.36. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 58,439,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,024,603,103.84. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 138,162 shares of company stock worth $11,932,913. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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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