Polar Capital Holdings Plc Has $16.90 Million Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc boosted its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 218,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,099 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $16,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 21,000 shares in the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $274,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted 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 in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 892.3% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 60,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,689,000 after buying an additional 54,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $3,454,000 after buying an additional 9,130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,450,783.80. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. This trade represents a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $81.28 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.88. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.28 and a 52-week high of $84.15. The firm has a market cap of $46.66 billion, a PE ratio of 42.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 49.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on NDAQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Nasdaq from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.50.

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.