Czech National Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 13.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 115,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,087 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $10,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in Nasdaq by 72.7% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 137.4% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NDAQ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $114.00 price target (up previously from $109.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Nasdaq from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.33.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $95.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $54.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.06, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $88.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.27. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.84 and a 52-week high of $97.63.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.06. Nasdaq had a net margin of 19.90% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. Nasdaq’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 38.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.40, for a total transaction of $179,767.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 84,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,256,779.60. This represents a 2.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nasdaq 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.