Kentucky Retirement Systems Raises Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 10.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,822 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in Nasdaq by 94.8% in the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 89.3% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in Nasdaq by 164.4% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America upgraded Nasdaq from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $53.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Nasdaq from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.08.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $74.29 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $68.85 and its 200 day moving average is $63.42. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.88 and a 12 month high of $74.68. The company has a market capitalization 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.45% and a net margin of 14.43%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 50.53%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, major shareholder Seller Lp Argus sold 42,804,207 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.