BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Raises Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 305,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 26,545 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned about 0.05% of Nasdaq worth $19,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 112.4% in the 1st quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 58,713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,705,000 after purchasing an additional 31,075 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 11.1% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 18,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,885 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 23.7% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 125,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,901,000 after buying an additional 23,993 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 99.3% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 591,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,350,000 after buying an additional 294,997 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the first quarter worth about $488,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.89, for a total value of $181,826.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,511,710.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $62.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 114,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,785,698. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.88 and a 52 week high of $64.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.05 billion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.94.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.02). Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 15.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This is a positive change from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 50.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on NDAQ. Edward Jones initiated coverage on Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Rosenblatt Securities cut 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Nasdaq from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.08.

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.