Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 19,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,754,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Front Row Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on NDAQ. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on Nasdaq and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Argus raised Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. TD Cowen raised Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.80.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ stock opened at $84.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $47.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.80. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.84 and a twelve month high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Nasdaq’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Nasdaq news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total value of $29,073,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $186,542,349.73. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 697,340 shares of company stock worth $66,803,072 in the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nasdaq 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.