Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,851,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 378,577 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,243,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in Nasdaq by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in Nasdaq by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Orgel Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 8,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $831,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NDAQ opened at $91.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $88.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.01. The stock has a market cap of $51.46 billion, a PE ratio of 27.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.98. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.09 and a 12 month high of $101.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 32.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total value of $117,508.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,104.98. The trade was a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total value of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 215,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,530,126. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 231,002 shares of company stock worth $20,295,941. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on NDAQ. TD Cowen raised Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Argus upgraded Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price objective on Nasdaq and gave the stock 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 Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.15.

About Nasdaq

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.