AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Reduces Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc decreased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 79.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 91,026 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $82.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.95. The stock has a market cap of $46.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.97. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.09 and a 52 week high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.The business’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 37.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total transaction of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 215,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,530,126. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total transaction of $117,508.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,104.98. The trade was a 11.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 138,162 shares of company stock worth $11,932,913 in the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.36.

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.