EFG International AG Buys New Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

EFG International AG bought a new position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 43,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,456,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,931,637,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth $530,100,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the second quarter valued at $377,818,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter valued at about $220,130,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NDAQ. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 target price on Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.30.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $99.47 on Thursday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.55 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The company has a market capitalization of $55.60 billion, a PE ratio of 29.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $90.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.09. The company 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Ab Investor bought 56,782 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $85.98 per share, with a total value of $4,882,116.36. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 11,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.35, for a total transaction of $1,060,813.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 205,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,751,846.35. The trade was a 5.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,797 shares of company stock worth $3,926,319. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.