Magnetar Financial LLC Invests $2.91 Million in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 37,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,910,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Olstein Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Nasdaq by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 80,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,185,000 after buying an additional 21,000 shares in the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth about $274,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 75.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 53,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,170,000 after buying an additional 23,244 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Nasdaq by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 44,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,454,000 after purchasing an additional 9,130 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $856,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,778.56. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. The trade was a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.4 %

NDAQ stock opened at $76.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $44.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.10 and a 12 month high of $84.15.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. Sell-side analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on NDAQ shares. StockNews.com cut Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.88.

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.