Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Raises Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 70.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 904 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in Nasdaq by 250.6% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC grew its stake in Nasdaq by 93.9% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ opened at $60.35 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.88 and a 12 month high of $64.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $59.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $34.71 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.93.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 17.48%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 41.71%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 7,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.91, for a total transaction of $465,534.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,672 shares in the company, valued at $3,879,785.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 7,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.91, for a total transaction of $465,534.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,672 shares in the company, valued at $3,879,785.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total value of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,341,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,383,809,610. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NDAQ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Nasdaq from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley raised Nasdaq from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Nasdaq from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. StockNews.com raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Nasdaq from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.09.

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.