Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Sold by Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 44.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,000 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,916,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,819,727,000 after acquiring an additional 268,481 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,627,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,683,485,000 after acquiring an additional 1,258,964 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,878,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,930,808,000 after acquiring an additional 259,408 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,851,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,243,807,000 after purchasing an additional 378,577 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 62.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $900,061,000 after purchasing an additional 3,567,843 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ opened at $92.09 on Monday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.55 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $87.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.45. 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 market cap of $51.48 billion, a PE ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.99.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.09. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Nasdaq’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, major shareholder Ab Investor purchased 56,782 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total value of $700,222.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 141,035 shares in the company, valued at $12,808,798.70. This trade represents a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NDAQ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $113.00 price objective (up from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Loop Capital set a $113.00 target price on Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.73.

More Nasdaq News

Here are the key news stories impacting Nasdaq this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nasdaq delivered a solid Q2 beat on both earnings and revenue, with strong growth in index and FinTech driving better-than-expected results and record Market Services performance. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, which may appeal to income-focused investors and signals continued shareholder returns. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted its price target to $102, indicating improved valuation expectations even though the rating remained market perform. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Nasdaq’s July short-interest report showed 0 shares short and a 0.0-day days-to-cover figure, which appears more like a data anomaly than a meaningful trading signal. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also ended its Miami case and sold its fund secondaries business, a portfolio move that may be viewed as strategic housekeeping rather than a major earnings driver. Article Title

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.