North Dakota State Investment Board Acquires New Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board opened a new position in Nasdaq, buying 14,106 shares valued at about $1.37 million in the fourth quarter.
• Nasdaq reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $0.96 topping estimates and revenue of $2.14 billion beating expectations, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share from $0.27, and analysts remain constructive overall with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average price target of $107.15.

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 14,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,370,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. M&T Bank Corp grew 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 in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew 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 in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 129.2% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 55,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,877,000 after buying an additional 31,081 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 141,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,808,798.70. The trade was a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were 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 approximately $19,530,126. This 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $91.98 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.09 and a twelve month high of $101.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $87.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.79. The stock has a market cap of $52.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.98.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid 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 yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price objective on Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price objective on Nasdaq and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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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