Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Raises Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 45.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,097 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $4,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Nasdaq by 35.9% in the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 64,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,737,000 after acquiring an additional 16,950 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter worth $498,000. 111 Capital boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 67.0% in the second quarter. 111 Capital now owns 11,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $992,000 after purchasing an additional 4,450 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 25,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,237,000 after purchasing an additional 3,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,511,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $111.00 price objective (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Nasdaq from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up previously from $99.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Barclays set a $115.00 price objective on Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.47.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $28,917,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at $185,541,400.17. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 306,605 shares of company stock valued at $29,546,812. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $98.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.09, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $64.84 and a one year high of $101.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.06. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 19.90%.The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. Nasdaq’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 38.57%.

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.