Ieq Capital LLC Makes New $10.23 Million Investment in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 129,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,226,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,855,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,329,000 after buying an additional 45,783 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Nasdaq by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 61,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,933,000 after acquiring an additional 13,160 shares during the period. MKP Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth $33,996,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth $1,245,000. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at $4,872,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on NDAQ. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $111.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research raised Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $113.00 price objective (up from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $110.30.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, major shareholder Ab Investor purchased 56,782 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $85.98 per share, with a total value of $4,882,116.36. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 58,439,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,024,603,103.84. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 11,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.35, for a total value of $1,060,813.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 205,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,751,846.35. The trade was a 5.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,797 shares of company stock valued at $3,926,319. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $98.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $89.85 and a 200 day moving average of $88.04. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.55 and a fifty-two week high of $101.79.

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

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.15%.

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.