Rakuten Securities Inc. Takes $87,000 Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $87,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 88.6% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $931,000 after purchasing an additional 7,520 shares in the last quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $230,000. Bison Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 13,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 3,088 shares during the period. Finally, Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth $214,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Trading Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $60.01 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.88 and a 1-year high of $64.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.93. The company has a market capitalization of $34.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.93.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 17.48%. The business’s revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NDAQ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Nasdaq from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Nasdaq from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Nasdaq from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 7,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.91, for a total value of $465,534.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,672 shares in the company, valued at $3,879,785.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total transaction of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,341,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,383,809,610. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 7,400 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.91, for a total transaction of $465,534.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,879,785.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.