Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Raises Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 83.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 716,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 326,600 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.12% of Nasdaq worth $55,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Founders Capital Management purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 106.6% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NDAQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Nasdaq from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup cut their target price on Nasdaq from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,116 shares of company stock valued at $1,434,818. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NDAQ traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.36. 2,810,470 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,809,197. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.28 and a 52-week high of $84.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.02. The company's fifty day moving average price is $75.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.45.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Nasdaq's payout ratio is 49.09%.

Nasdaq Company 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.