Empowered Funds LLC Buys New Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 28,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,247,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Nasdaq by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,855,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,329,000 after purchasing an additional 45,783 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 61,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,933,000 after purchasing an additional 13,160 shares during the period. MKP Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,996,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth about $1,245,000. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 673,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,458,000 after buying an additional 68,368 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $113.00 price target (up from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $111.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, July 24th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price target on Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.30.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $1,203,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 128,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,881,214.73. The trade was a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Ab Investor purchased 56,782 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,439,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,024,603,103.84. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,797 shares of company stock worth $3,926,319. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.9%

NDAQ stock opened at $95.72 on Thursday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.55 and a 52 week high of $101.79. The company has a market capitalization of $53.51 billion, a PE ratio of 27.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The business’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 36.15%.

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.