Ethic Inc. Grows Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 97,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,990 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $8,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in Nasdaq by 72.7% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the first quarter valued at $30,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the second quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the first quarter valued at $40,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $87.42 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $50.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.98. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.84 and a 12 month high of $97.63. The business’s 50-day moving average is $91.48 and its 200 day moving average is $86.65.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.46% and a net margin of 19.90%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 41.54%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.45, for a total value of $812,173.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $829,742.55. The trade was a 49.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total value of $201,006.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 92,551 shares in the company, valued at $8,837,694.99. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NDAQ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays set a $109.00 price objective on Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.56.

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.