4,793,430 Shares in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Acquired by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,793,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $377,818,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.86% of Nasdaq at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter worth $2,931,637,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at $530,100,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Nasdaq by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $900,061,000 after purchasing an additional 3,567,843 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 82.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 6,073,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $589,897,000 after purchasing an additional 2,736,322 shares during the period. Finally, Harris Associates L P raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,621,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $837,425,000 after buying an additional 2,716,280 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NDAQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price objective on Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $113.00 price objective (up from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Ab Investor acquired 56,782 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 58,439,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,024,603,103.84. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $1,203,930.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 128,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,881,214.73. The trade was a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 41,797 shares of company stock valued at $3,926,319. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.6%

NDAQ stock opened at $98.79 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.55 and a 52-week high of $101.79. The firm has a market cap of $55.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.96.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 18.38% and a net margin of 22.60%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.15%.

About Nasdaq

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.