Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 300,499 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,097 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.05% of Nasdaq worth $29,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Nasdaq by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NDAQ opened at $91.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $51.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $86.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.54 and a 1 year high of $101.79.

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

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq's payout ratio is currently 32.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 113,611 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total transaction of $9,706,923.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,965,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $167,953,765.44. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total transaction of $700,222.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 141,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,808,798.70. The trade was a 5.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 531,002 shares of company stock worth $49,368,941 over the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NDAQ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Nasdaq to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.15.

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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