Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Shares Sold by LGT Group Foundation

LGT Group Foundation lowered its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 105,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 554 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $6,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Nasdaq by 74.9% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 158.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Trading Up 1.6 %

NDAQ stock traded up $0.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.05. 1,799,962 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,173,692. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $60.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.75. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.88 and a 1 year high of $64.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.94.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.02). Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. Nasdaq’s revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 50.53%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 7,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.91, for a total transaction of $465,534.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,879,785.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other 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 transaction of $465,534.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,879,785.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $3,383,809,610. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NDAQ. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Nasdaq from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $59.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.92.

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.