Kentucky Retirement Systems Grows Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,822 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 94.8% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 89.3% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 164.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $74.29 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $68.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.42. The company has a market capitalization of $42.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.95. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.88 and a 52 week high of $74.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 15.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 50.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other news, major shareholder Seller Lp Argus sold 42,804,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total value of $2,764,295,688.06. Following the sale, the insider now owns 42,804,207 shares in the company, valued at $2,764,295,688.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on NDAQ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Nasdaq from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Nasdaq from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.08.

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.