Natixis Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 717,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,286 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $69,727,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AXQ Capital LP grew its position in Nasdaq by 370.1% during the 4th quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 14,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 11,547 shares during the last quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 4,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MKP Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,996,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Down 5.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $87.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $49.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.09 and a fifty-two week high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.53%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total value of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 215,208 shares in the company, valued at $19,530,126. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total transaction of $700,222.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 141,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,808,798.70. This trade represents a 5.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 231,002 shares of company stock worth $20,295,941 over the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $113.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.15.

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.