Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. by 0.8%, now holding approximately 52.98 million shares valued at $4.02 billion, representing about 9.23% of the company.
• Several other large investors significantly boosted their positions in Nasdaq, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising theirs by an impressive 7,367.6% during the first quarter.
• Nasdaq's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.85, exceeding analysts' estimates, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, highlighting a dividend yield of 1.1%.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,979,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 403,248 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.23% of Nasdaq worth $4,019,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 194.6% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 1,509.5% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 338 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NDAQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Redburn Atlantic raised Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group raised Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $96.00 price objective (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.06.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NDAQ traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $96.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,570,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,597,520. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $64.84 and a one year high of $97.47. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $89.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.00.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total value of $1,022,715.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 111,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,867,680.45. This represents a 9.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total value of $201,006.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,837,694.99. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,409 shares of company stock worth $2,887,839. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.