Bank of Nova Scotia Grows Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 373,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,140 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.07% of Nasdaq worth $31,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 218,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,560,000 after purchasing an additional 30,715 shares during the last quarter. Militia Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the first quarter valued at $555,000. Signature Equity Partners LLC raised its stake in Nasdaq by 60.3% in the first quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the 1st quarter worth about $418,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 609,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,768,000 after buying an additional 56,056 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Key Nasdaq News

Here are the key news stories impacting Nasdaq this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nasdaq delivered a solid Q2 beat on both earnings and revenue, with strong growth in index and FinTech driving better-than-expected results and record Market Services performance. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, which may appeal to income-focused investors and signals continued shareholder returns. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted its price target to $102, indicating improved valuation expectations even though the rating remained market perform. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Nasdaq’s July short-interest report showed 0 shares short and a 0.0-day days-to-cover figure, which appears more like a data anomaly than a meaningful trading signal. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also ended its Miami case and sold its fund secondaries business, a portfolio move that may be viewed as strategic housekeeping rather than a major earnings driver. Article Title

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $92.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.55 and a fifty-two week high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 37.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on NDAQ. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $113.00 price objective (up from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $111.00 price target (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $109.73.

Insider Activity

In other Nasdaq news, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total value of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 215,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,530,126. This represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total value of $700,222.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 141,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,808,798.70. This trade represents a 5.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.