Rafferty Asset Management LLC Purchases 13,426 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 9.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 150,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,426 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $13,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,652,000 after acquiring an additional 10,110 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 22.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Nasdaq by 345.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter worth about $244,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.1%

NDAQ stock opened at $87.58 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $92.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.20. The stock has a market cap of $49.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.84 and a twelve month high of $101.79.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $28,917,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $185,541,400.17. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 604,500 shares of company stock worth $58,440,045. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note 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 note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average 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.