Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Grows Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 21.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,796 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $3,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Thoma Bravo L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,166,454,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,065,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,620,131,000 after buying an additional 745,965 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 214.0% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,281,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $305,224,000 after buying an additional 4,280,846 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,787,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,564,000 after buying an additional 681,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at about $239,347,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.89, for a total transaction of $181,826.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,636 shares in the company, valued at $3,511,710.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $60.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.77. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.88 and a 12 month high of $64.25. The company has a market capitalization of $34.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.71, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.94.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.02). Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 15.98%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is a positive change from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 50.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Nasdaq from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

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.