Simmons Bank Raises Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Simmons Bank lifted its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 55.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,842 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $3,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $76.85 on Tuesday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.76 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.55. The company has a market cap of $43.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.Nasdaq’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 37.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price target on Nasdaq in a report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Nasdaq from $104.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.79.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Ab Investor acquired 56,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 58,439,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,024,603,103.84. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total transaction of $117,508.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,104.98. This trade represents a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 138,162 shares of company stock valued at $11,932,913. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Company 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.