Vise Technologies Inc. Makes New Investment in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 30,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,387,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 3.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,652,000 after acquiring an additional 10,110 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 2,584 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 345.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 11,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $111.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.30.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ stock opened at $98.22 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $54.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.64, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.04. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.55 and a twelve month high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating 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. Nasdaq’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 36.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, major shareholder Ab Investor purchased 56,782 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $85.98 per share, with a total value of $4,882,116.36. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 58,439,208 shares in the company, valued at $5,024,603,103.84. This represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $1,203,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 128,293 shares in the company, valued at $11,881,214.73. This trade represents a 9.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,797 shares of company stock worth $3,926,319. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.