BNP Paribas Financial Markets Raises Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 202.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,037,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 694,356 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Nasdaq were worth $91,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 41.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 22,685 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in Nasdaq by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,561,000 after purchasing an additional 19,078 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Nasdaq by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,275,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,848,406 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 74.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 82,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,259,000 after purchasing an additional 35,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 162.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 25,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,251,000 after purchasing an additional 15,739 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 92,840 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.08, for a total transaction of $8,363,027.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,079,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,305,415.84. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 697,340 shares of company stock valued at $66,803,072 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $84.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $47.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.03. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.84 and a 12 month 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 50-day moving average is $90.85 and its 200-day moving average is $90.80.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.77%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 34.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.80.

Nasdaq 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.