Machina Capital S.A.S. Grows Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Machina Capital S.A.S. grew its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 161.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 20,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,596 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 116.0% in the 4th quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 23,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,829,000 after acquiring an additional 12,704 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $522,000. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $406,000. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $500,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 59,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,578,000 after acquiring an additional 6,738 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on NDAQ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.88.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $74.66 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.96 and a 52 week high of $84.15.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 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, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.00%.

About Nasdaq

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.