DnB Asset Management AS Raises Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 78,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,208 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $6,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 106.6% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ 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 stock has a market capitalization of $43.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $79.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.63.

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

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at $4,398,253.92. The trade was a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.