BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Acquires 58,216 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 386,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,216 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned 0.07% of Nasdaq worth $34,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Burling Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 28.9% in the third quarter. Burling Wealth Partners LLC now owns 33,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,925,000 after buying an additional 7,406 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at about $519,000. Syon Capital LLC boosted its position in Nasdaq by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 25.7% in the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Bank of Omaha acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at about $4,816,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $186,542,349.73. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 604,500 shares of company stock worth $58,440,045 in the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nasdaq Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $81.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.02. 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. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $93.99 and its 200 day moving average is $91.80.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 34.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.13.

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.