Rafferty Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 150,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,426 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $13,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 2.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,552,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $225,794,000 after buying an additional 61,230 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Nasdaq by 6.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 23,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,085,000 after acquiring an additional 1,331 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 11,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $981,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth $2,312,000. Finally, Ninepoint Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at about $223,000. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $87.58 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $49.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $92.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.20. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $64.84 and a one year high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. Nasdaq’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 34.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total transaction of $29,073,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,542,349.73. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at $12,568,656.74. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 604,500 shares of company stock valued at $58,440,045 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.