Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Has $57.36 Million Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Vaughan Nelson Investment Management increased its stake in Nasdaq by 55.5%, owning 590,559 shares worth about $57.36 million at the end of the quarter.
• Company insiders were net sellers: CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 92,840 shares (~$8.36M) and insiders sold a total of 697,340 shares valued at about $66.8 million last quarter, leaving insiders with roughly 0.70% ownership.
• Nasdaq beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $0.96 (vs. $0.92 est.) and revenue of $2.12B (vs. $1.37B est.), the stock carries a consensus "Buy" rating with a $103.80 target and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.27 (annualized yield ~1.3%).

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 55.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 590,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 210,815 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned 0.10% of Nasdaq worth $57,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 6.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,275,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,848,406 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4,365.0% in the second 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 buying an additional 1,604,368 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 7.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,619,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,735,318,000 after buying an additional 1,404,348 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 55.7% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,535,689 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $316,515,000 after buying an additional 1,264,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth about $110,259,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 92,840 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.08, for a total value of $8,363,027.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,079,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $187,305,415.84. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 697,340 shares of company stock valued at $66,803,072 in the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nasdaq Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $83.52 on Tuesday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.84 and a fifty-two week high of $101.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $87.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.93.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq's payout ratio is 34.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NDAQ shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 9th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Argus raised Nasdaq to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.80.

Nasdaq Company 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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