Howard Capital Management Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Howard Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Nasdaq by 10.6% during the second quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 29,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,848 shares during the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in Nasdaq by 8.1% in the second quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 92,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,255,000 after buying an additional 6,900 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Nasdaq by 27.5% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 225,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,201,000 after buying an additional 48,719 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Nasdaq by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the period. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter valued at $252,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $85.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $48.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.84 and a 1-year high of $97.63. The business’s 50 day moving average is $90.65 and its 200-day moving average is $87.52.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 19.90%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. UBS Group upgraded Nasdaq from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $90.00 price target on Nasdaq and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays set a $109.00 price target on Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.56.

Nasdaq Profile

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.