Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Acquired by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 82.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 30,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,681 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $2,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,339,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 72.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 4,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Stock Down 0.2%

NDAQ stock opened at $85.49 on Monday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.84 and a 52 week high of $97.63. The company has a market capitalization of $48.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $90.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.06. Nasdaq had a net margin of 19.90% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. Nasdaq’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 38.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Nasdaq from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, July 25th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $101.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.56.

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.