Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Stake Lifted by PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab

PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 9.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,707 shares during the quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $8,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,916,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,819,727,000 after buying an additional 268,481 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,627,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,683,485,000 after buying an additional 1,258,964 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,878,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,930,808,000 after buying an additional 259,408 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,851,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,243,807,000 after buying an additional 378,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 62.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $900,061,000 after buying an additional 3,567,843 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Ab Investor acquired 56,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 58,439,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,024,603,103.84. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $1,203,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 128,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,881,214.73. The trade was a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,797 shares of company stock worth $3,926,319. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NDAQ opened at $94.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $52.87 billion, a PE ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.17. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.55 and a fifty-two week high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.09. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 18.38% and a net margin of 22.60%.The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. Nasdaq’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NDAQ has been the topic of several research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $110.30.

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.