MKP Capital Management L.L.C. Acquires Shares of 350,000 Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

MKP Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 350,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $33,996,000. Nasdaq makes up about 1.2% of MKP Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 20,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,028,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Ellevest Inc. grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 4,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $294,000. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $275,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total value of $700,222.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 141,035 shares in the company, valued at $12,808,798.70. This trade represents a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total value of $117,508.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,104.98. This represents a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 231,002 shares of company stock valued at $20,295,941 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.15.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NDAQ opened at $92.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $52.49 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average of $88.32 and a 200 day moving average of $90.08. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.09 and a 52-week high of $101.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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 company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.Nasdaq’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 32.53%.

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.