Dearborn Partners LLC Makes New $20.39 Million Investment in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 258,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,385,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter worth about $2,931,637,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in Nasdaq by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,878,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,930,808,000 after acquiring an additional 259,408 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Nasdaq by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,851,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,243,807,000 after acquiring an additional 378,577 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Nasdaq by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $900,061,000 after acquiring an additional 3,567,843 shares during the period. Finally, Harris Associates L P grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,621,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $837,425,000 after purchasing an additional 2,716,280 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price target on Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $113.00 price objective (up from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $111.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two equities 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.30.

Nasdaq Stock Down 0.1%

Nasdaq stock opened at $99.35 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $90.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.33. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.55 and a 1-year high of $101.79. The company has a market cap of $55.53 billion, a PE ratio of 28.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 36.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 11,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.35, for a total value of $1,060,813.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 205,001 shares in the company, valued at $19,751,846.35. This trade represents a 5.10% 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 13,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 128,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,881,214.73. This represents a 9.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 41,797 shares of company stock worth $3,926,319 in the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.