284,092 Shares in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Acquired by Dearborn Partners LLC

Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 284,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $24,117,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Nasdaq by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,855,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,329,000 after purchasing an additional 45,783 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Nasdaq by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 61,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,933,000 after buying an additional 13,160 shares in the last quarter. MKP Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $33,996,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $1,245,000. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,872,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, major shareholder Ab Investor purchased 56,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $85.98 per share, with a total value of $4,882,116.36. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 58,439,208 shares in the company, valued at $5,024,603,103.84. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 11,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.35, for a total transaction of $1,060,813.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 205,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,751,846.35. This trade represents a 5.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,797 shares of company stock worth $3,926,319. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.6%

NDAQ opened at $98.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.05. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.55 and a 52 week high of $101.79. The company has a market capitalization of $55.22 billion, a PE ratio of 28.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.96. 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 (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 18.38% and a net margin of 22.60%.The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $113.00 target price (up from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $111.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $110.30.

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.