Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Invests $10.13 Million in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 131,073 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,133,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Nasdaq by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 4,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reiterated a "cautious" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total value of $47,179.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,450,783.80. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:NDAQ traded up $0.62 on Friday, hitting $81.90. 5,144,712 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,903,921. The stock has a market cap of $47.02 billion, a PE ratio of 42.66, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $75.00 and a 200-day moving average of $77.94. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.28 and a fifty-two week high of $84.15.

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

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.09%.

Nasdaq 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.