American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 61,230 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,552,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,230 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.45% of Nasdaq worth $225,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,511,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 41.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 77,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,819,000 after buying an additional 22,685 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 9.9% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 800,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,594,000 after acquiring an additional 72,032 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 3.3% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,561,000 after acquiring an additional 19,078 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Nasdaq by 6.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,275,902,000 after acquiring an additional 3,848,406 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $87.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.02. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $64.84 and a one year high of $101.79. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.95%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $12,568,656.74. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $28,917,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $185,541,400.17. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 604,500 shares of company stock worth $58,440,045 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on NDAQ. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.80.

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.