Vista Investment Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Vista Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 49,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,844,000. Nasdaq comprises about 1.3% of Vista Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Front Row Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.3%

NDAQ opened at $85.15 on Thursday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.84 and a 52 week high of $101.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.84. The firm has a market cap of $48.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted 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 return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.77%.The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. Nasdaq’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

NDAQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 92,840 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.08, for a total value of $8,363,027.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 697,340 shares of company stock worth $66,803,072. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.