Rafferty Asset Management LLC Buys 5,698 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 145,996 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,698 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $11,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth $424,285,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Nasdaq by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,005,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $464,676,000 after buying an additional 1,650,201 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth $110,867,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth $105,481,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Nasdaq by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,379,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $802,401,000 after buying an additional 1,225,672 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Trading Down 0.2%

NDAQ traded down $0.13 on Tuesday, hitting $81.83. The company had a trading volume of 2,071,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,907,208. The company has a market cap of $46.98 billion, a PE ratio of 42.62, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.00. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.28 and a 12-month high of $84.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $75.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. The firm's revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Nasdaq's payout ratio is 49.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total transaction of $47,179.17. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,450,783.80. The trade was a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group restated a "cautious" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Nasdaq from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.50.

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.