Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys New Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,099,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $86,660,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC now owns 7,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $606,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fielder Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 4,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $96.71 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.97. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.55 and a 52-week high of $101.79. The firm has a market cap of $54.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. 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 36.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $113.00 price target (up from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price objective on Nasdaq in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 target price on Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.