Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 51,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,166 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $3,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 163.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,833,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,835,235,000 after buying an additional 24,084,154 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Nasdaq by 11.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,951,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,310,653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,811,616 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 9.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,761,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $783,181,000 after purchasing an additional 932,665 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 14.6% during the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,596,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $627,596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 13,532.3% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,040,000 after purchasing an additional 3,970,658 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NDAQ opened at $82.82 on Monday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $79.55 and its 200-day moving average is $75.56. The stock has a market cap of $47.60 billion, a PE ratio of 43.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.99. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.90 and a twelve month high of $84.15.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. On average, analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total value of $950,906.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,505 shares in the company, valued at $8,072,268.75. This trade represents a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on NDAQ. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their target price on Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.88.

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.