KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $17.83 Million in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 230,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,834,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 163.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,833,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,835,235,000 after buying an additional 24,084,154 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Nasdaq by 11.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,951,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,310,653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,811,616 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Nasdaq by 9.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,761,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $783,181,000 after purchasing an additional 932,665 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 14.6% during the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,596,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $627,596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096,090 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,723,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $309,360,000 after purchasing an additional 330,389 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $75.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.10 and a 52 week high of $84.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.17 and a 200-day moving average of $77.47.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq 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.