VCI Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• VCI Wealth Management opened a new position in Nasdaq during Q4, buying 22,992 shares worth approximately $2.23 million.
• Nasdaq beat expectations in its latest quarter, reporting EPS of $0.96 versus $0.92 consensus and revenue of $2.12 billion, up 13.4% year‑over‑year.
• Insider selling — CEO Adena Friedman sold 113,611 shares at an average $85.44 (~$9.71 million); insiders have sold 506,451 shares in the past three months and now own just 0.70% of the stock.

VCI Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 22,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,233,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 41.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 77,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,819,000 after purchasing an additional 22,685 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $5,275,902,000 after buying an additional 3,848,406 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its position in Nasdaq by 3.3% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,561,000 after buying an additional 19,078 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 162.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 25,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,251,000 after buying an additional 15,739 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,552,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $225,794,000 after acquiring an additional 61,230 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NDAQ stock traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $88.61. 2,817,856 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,882,065. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.88 and a 1-year high of $101.79. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $85.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.61. The firm has a market cap of $50.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Argus raised Nasdaq to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 113,611 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total value of $9,706,923.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,965,751 shares in the company, valued at $167,953,765.44. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 506,451 shares of company stock valued at $47,142,951 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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