Vanguard Group Inc. Has $5.28 Billion Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,848,406 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.45% of Nasdaq worth $5,275,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in 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 worth $2,438,897,000 after purchasing an additional 6,840,735 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth about $406,823,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 261.7% during the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,690,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,556,000 after buying an additional 1,946,479 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4,365.0% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,641,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,749,000 after buying an additional 1,604,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,535,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $316,515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,975 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nasdaq Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $80.24 on Wednesday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.94. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.84 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The company has a market capitalization 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.

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

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on NDAQ shares. Argus upgraded Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $186,542,349.73. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 604,500 shares of company stock valued at $58,440,045. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.