Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New $4.58 Million Investment in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 75,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,576,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 11,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 32,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,967,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 89.3% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 94.8% during the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Seller Lp Argus sold 42,804,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,804,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,764,295,688.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ stock opened at $74.29 on Monday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.88 and a 1-year high of $74.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.63. The stock has a market cap of $42.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.95.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.45% and a net margin of 14.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. Analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, September 13th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.53%.

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.