DnB Asset Management AS Increases Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,208 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $6,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4.1% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Nasdaq by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 977,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,400,000 after buying an additional 191,705 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Nasdaq by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 72,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,261,000 after buying an additional 7,569 shares in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 6,916.9% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 9,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 9,822 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on NDAQ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.88.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $74.91 on Monday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.10 and a 1-year high of $84.15. The firm has a market cap of $43.08 billion, a PE ratio of 39.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. On average, analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,532,778.56. This represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.