Aberdeen Group plc Boosts Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 324,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,251 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.06% of Nasdaq worth $28,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Nasdaq by 5.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,989,636,000 after buying an additional 2,820,339 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,274,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,438,897,000 after acquiring an additional 6,840,735 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,456,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,020,366,000 after acquiring an additional 89,391 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $406,823,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 55.7% during 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 in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ opened at $80.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $45.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.94. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.84 and a 12 month high of $101.79. 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 34.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nasdaq news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $186,542,349.73. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of Nasdaq 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 in the company, valued at $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 604,500 shares of company stock valued at $58,440,045. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.13.

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.