Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 34.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,504 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $5,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.9%

NDAQ stock opened at $87.52 on Wednesday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.09 and a 52-week high of $101.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.97.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $113.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total transaction of $117,508.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,089 shares in the company, valued at $896,104.98. This represents a 11.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total transaction of $700,222.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 141,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,808,798.70. This represents a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 138,162 shares of company stock worth $11,932,913. Company insiders own 0.60% 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.