AIA Group Ltd Takes Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

AIA Group Ltd bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 58,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,130,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Front Row Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. TD Cowen raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 92,840 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.08, for a total value of $8,363,027.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,079,323 shares in the company, valued at $187,305,415.84. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction 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 approximately $12,568,656.74. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 697,340 shares of company stock valued at $66,803,072 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Trading Up 1.0%

NDAQ opened at $86.30 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $89.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.50. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.84 and a 1-year high of $101.79. The company has a market cap of $49.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders 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 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.95%.

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.