BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Boosts Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,241 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,030 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $2,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,576,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,064,682,000 after buying an additional 376,893 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,018,705 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $849,783,000 after purchasing an additional 257,465 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,379,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $802,401,000 after buying an additional 1,225,672 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth approximately $424,285,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,902,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $301,680,000 after buying an additional 1,120,538 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Raymond James lifted their price target on Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.18.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of Nasdaq stock traded up $0.62 on Friday, hitting $75.36. The stock had a trading volume of 2,793,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,836,902. The stock has a market cap of $43.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.02. The business's 50 day moving average is $75.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.39. 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 twelve month low of $58.10 and a twelve month high of $84.15.

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

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is a boost from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total transaction of $47,179.17. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,450,783.80. This represents a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 19,116 shares of company stock valued at $1,434,818. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

About Nasdaq

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.