Fisher Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 28.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,989 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Thoma Bravo L.P. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth $4,166,454,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Nasdaq by 214.0% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,281,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $305,224,000 after buying an additional 4,280,846 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Nasdaq by 16.6% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,787,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $232,564,000 after buying an additional 681,238 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth $239,347,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Nasdaq by 5.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,363,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $163,452,000 after buying an additional 171,959 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,036 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.89, for a total value of $181,826.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,636 shares in the company, valued at $3,511,710.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on NDAQ. Edward Jones began coverage on Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays cut their price target on Nasdaq from $76.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Nasdaq from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered Nasdaq from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $64.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Nasdaq from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $80.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

Nasdaq Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $60.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.77. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.88 and a 12-month high of $64.25. The firm has a market cap of $34.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.02). Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 15.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is an increase from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 50.53%.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.