Handelsbanken Fonder AB Cuts Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,038,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 62,579 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.18% of Nasdaq worth $91,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Front Row Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the second quarter worth $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter worth $27,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total value of $29,073,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,542,349.73. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $450,045.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at $12,568,656.74. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 604,500 shares of company stock worth $58,440,045. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on Nasdaq and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Argus upgraded Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.80.

Nasdaq Trading Up 5.5%

Nasdaq stock opened at $88.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.84 and a 12 month high of $101.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.33. The firm has a market cap of $50.36 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 34.95%.

About Nasdaq

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.