Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,659,015 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 64.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 898,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,659,015 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Nasdaq worth $79,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Front Row Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total transaction of $29,073,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $186,542,349.73. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 604,500 shares of company stock valued at $58,440,045. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NDAQ. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price objective on Nasdaq and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.13.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $84.83 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.84 and a 1-year high of $101.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $95.64 and a 200 day moving average of $92.61. The company has a market capitalization of $48.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 34.95%.

Nasdaq Profile

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.