V Square Quantitative Management LLC Boosts Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at $90,000. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 54,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,010,000 after buying an additional 3,475 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 46,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,362,000 after buying an additional 5,415 shares during the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,276,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on NDAQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $80.91 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.90 and a 12-month high of $84.15. The company has a market capitalization of $46.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $79.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.91.

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 net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. On average, research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total transaction of $950,906.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 102,505 shares in the company, valued at $8,072,268.75. This trade represents a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

About Nasdaq

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.