11,244 Shares in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Acquired by Scientech Research LLC

Scientech Research LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $853,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Nasdaq by 7.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,274,000 after purchasing an additional 3,096 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas grew its stake in Nasdaq by 61.1% in the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 17,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 6,764 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Nasdaq by 1.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,268,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $172,098,000 after purchasing an additional 27,622 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,749,000. Finally, FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the first quarter valued at about $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ traded down $1.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $93.95. The company had a trading volume of 2,947,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,459,310. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.84 and a 1-year high of $97.63. The firm has a market cap of $53.91 billion, a PE ratio of 36.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.02. The business's 50 day moving average price is $93.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.07. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 18.59%.The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. Nasdaq's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.54%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.45, for a total transaction of $812,173.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at $829,742.55. This represents a 49.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total value of $201,006.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,837,694.99. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,409 shares of company stock valued at $2,223,599 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $96.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Nasdaq from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Nasdaq from $95.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.06.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.