Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Takes Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 630,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $48,749,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.11% of Nasdaq as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 48.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,524,795 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $111,325,000 after purchasing an additional 500,418 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,000. PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,619 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 773 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total value of $47,179.17. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,980 shares in the company, valued at $4,450,783.80. This trade represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. The trade was a 20.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,616 shares of company stock valued at $1,813,598 over the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Nasdaq from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Nasdaq from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $74.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.50.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $83.30. 4,803,931 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,954,530. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.28 and a 52 week high of $84.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.39, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $76.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.09%.

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.