Prana Capital Management LP Buys 633,184 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Prana Capital Management LP increased its stake in Nasdaq by 104.7% in Q3, buying 633,184 shares to hold 1,237,683 shares (about 0.22% of the company), making Nasdaq roughly 3.6% of Prana's portfolio and its 7th largest holding.
• Other large institutions — including Vanguard, State Street, Norges Bank, Neuberger Berman and Balyasny — also boosted positions, with institutional investors owning 72.47% of the stock and analysts holding a consensus "Buy" rating with a $103.80 target after several price-target upgrades.
• Nasdaq beat earnings (EPS $0.96 vs. $0.92 est.) with revenue up 13.4% year-over-year, announced a $0.27 quarterly dividend (1.2% yield), and has seen notable insider selling, including CEO Adena T. Friedman’s 300,000-share sale.

Prana Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 104.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,237,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 633,184 shares during the quarter. Nasdaq comprises about 3.6% of Prana Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Prana Capital Management LP owned about 0.22% of Nasdaq worth $109,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the second quarter worth $406,823,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $5,275,902,000 after buying an additional 3,848,406 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 261.7% during the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,690,186 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $240,556,000 after buying an additional 1,946,479 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 4,365.0% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,641,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $146,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604,368 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,619,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,735,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404,348 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on NDAQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price objective on Nasdaq and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded Nasdaq to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.80.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.7%

Nasdaq stock opened at $86.47 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.84 and a 12 month high of $101.79. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $90.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.56. The firm has a market cap of $49.15 billion, a PE ratio of 27.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.03.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total value of $29,073,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at $186,542,349.73. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 697,340 shares of company stock valued at $66,803,072 in the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nasdaq 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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