Intech Investment Management LLC Buys 31,081 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 129.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 31,081 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $4,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Nasdaq by 33.5% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,274,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,438,897,000 after acquiring an additional 6,840,735 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter valued at $406,823,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,275,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,848,406 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 261.7% during the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,690,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $240,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,946,479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 4,365.0% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,641,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604,368 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $28,917,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,568,656.74. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 604,500 shares of company stock worth $58,440,045. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NDAQ shares. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.80.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NDAQ opened at $87.58 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.84 and a fifty-two week high of $101.79. The firm has a market cap of $49.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $92.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.95%.

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.