Royal Bank of Canada Raises Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 0.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 768,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $59,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 80,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,185,000 after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares during the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $274,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Nasdaq by 75.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 53,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,170,000 after buying an additional 23,244 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Nasdaq by 892.3% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 60,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,689,000 after buying an additional 54,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 44,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,454,000 after acquiring an additional 9,130 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $81.83 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.04. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.28 and a 52 week high of $84.15. The stock has a market cap of $46.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.62, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.00.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 49.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Nasdaq from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total value of $47,179.17. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,450,783.80. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nasdaq 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.