Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Acquired by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 435,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 136,326 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $38,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,275,902,000 after acquiring an additional 3,848,406 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 33.5% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,274,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,438,897,000 after purchasing an additional 6,840,735 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 0.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,456,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,020,366,000 after purchasing an additional 89,391 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter worth $406,823,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 55.7% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,535,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $316,515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,975 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Trading Down 0.4%

NDAQ opened at $88.05 on Tuesday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.84 and a 12-month high of $101.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.05 billion, a PE ratio of 28.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $91.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.94.

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

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,568,656.74. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total value of $29,073,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at $186,542,349.73. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 604,500 shares of company stock valued at $58,440,045. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Nasdaq

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.