Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Acquired by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 220.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 153,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 105,438 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $14,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,652,000 after acquiring an additional 10,110 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 2,584 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 345.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter worth $708,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. Argus raised shares of Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.80.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $81.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.05. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.84 and a 52-week high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,542,349.73. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 697,340 shares of company stock worth $66,803,072. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.