Saudi Central Bank Boosts Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Saudi Central Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 88.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,972 shares during the quarter. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $2,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Nasdaq in the second quarter worth approximately $2,931,637,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,878,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,930,808,000 after acquiring an additional 259,408 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,851,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,243,807,000 after purchasing an additional 378,577 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 62.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $900,061,000 after purchasing an additional 3,567,843 shares during the period. Finally, Harris Associates L P raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,621,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $837,425,000 after purchasing an additional 2,716,280 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $96.88 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $54.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.97. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.55 and a 12 month high of $101.79. The business’s 50-day moving average is $93.29 and its 200 day moving average is $89.14.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 18.38% and a net margin of 22.60%.The business had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on NDAQ shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $113.00 price target (up from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, July 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $110.30.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, insider Nelson Griggs sold 11,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.35, for a total value of $1,060,813.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 205,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,751,846.35. This trade represents a 5.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Ab Investor purchased 56,782 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,439,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,024,603,103.84. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,797 shares of company stock valued at $3,926,319. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.