SEB Asset Management AB Buys Shares of 103,513 Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 103,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,787,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,916,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,819,727,000 after purchasing an additional 268,481 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,627,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,683,485,000 after buying an additional 1,258,964 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,878,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,930,808,000 after buying an additional 259,408 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,851,894 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,243,807,000 after buying an additional 378,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Nasdaq by 62.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $900,061,000 after buying an additional 3,567,843 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $113.00 target price (up from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 target price on Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $108.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nasdaq news, major shareholder Ab Investor acquired 56,782 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 58,439,208 shares in the company, valued at $5,024,603,103.84. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total value of $117,508.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,089 shares in the company, valued at $896,104.98. This trade represents a 11.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 24,551 shares of company stock valued at $2,225,990 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $90.24 on Wednesday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.55 and a 52 week high of $101.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $87.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.58. 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 market capitalization of $51.03 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.99.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq's payout ratio is 37.35%.

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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