BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 202.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,037,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 694,356 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.18% of Nasdaq worth $91,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 84.6% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 432,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,217,000 after purchasing an additional 198,045 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,754,000. FourThought Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Nasdaq by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 132,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,733,000 after buying an additional 1,301 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Nasdaq by 83.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 271,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,052,000 after buying an additional 124,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 105.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 837,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,103,000 after acquiring an additional 429,119 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NDAQ. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group restated 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. TD Cowen raised Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 92,840 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.08, for a total value of $8,363,027.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,079,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $187,305,415.84. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 697,340 shares of company stock worth $66,803,072 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NDAQ opened at $84.06 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.84 and a twelve month high of $101.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $90.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.80.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.77%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share 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 $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 34.95%.

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.