Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. Takes $3.85 Million Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 39,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,847,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 41.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 77,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,819,000 after purchasing an additional 22,685 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its position in Nasdaq by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,561,000 after purchasing an additional 19,078 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 worth $5,275,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,848,406 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 162.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 25,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,251,000 after buying an additional 15,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 74.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 82,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,259,000 after buying an additional 35,015 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total transaction of $29,073,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $186,542,349.73. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 697,340 shares of company stock valued at $66,803,072. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ opened at $81.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.03. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.84 and a twelve month high of $101.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $87.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.09.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 34.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NDAQ has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.80.

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.