Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Grows Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 1,243.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 239,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 221,783 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $20,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Nasdaq by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,855,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,329,000 after buying an additional 45,783 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 61,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,933,000 after acquiring an additional 13,160 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,245,000. MKP Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,996,000. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,872,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, major shareholder Ab Investor purchased 56,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $85.98 per share, with a total value of $4,882,116.36. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,439,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,024,603,103.84. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nasdaq Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $93.94 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.51 billion, a PE ratio of 27.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $87.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.40. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.55 and a 1 year high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NDAQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price target on Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $109.73.

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.