AXQ Capital LP Purchases New Shares in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 19,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,493,000. Nasdaq accounts for approximately 0.7% of AXQ Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 163.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,833,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,835,235,000 after purchasing an additional 24,084,154 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,951,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,310,653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811,616 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,761,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $783,181,000 after acquiring an additional 932,665 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 14.6% in the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,596,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $627,596,000 after buying an additional 1,096,090 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,723,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $309,360,000 after acquiring an additional 330,389 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on NDAQ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. This trade represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $75.55 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.40. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.10 and a 12 month high of $84.15. The stock has a market cap of $43.45 billion, a PE ratio of 39.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 50.00%.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.