Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 300,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 49,700 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Nasdaq worth $26,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 41.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 77,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,819,000 after buying an additional 22,685 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,561,000 after buying an additional 19,078 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,275,902,000 after buying an additional 3,848,406 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 74.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 82,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,259,000 after acquiring an additional 35,015 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 162.1% during the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 25,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,251,000 after acquiring an additional 15,739 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NDAQ opened at $84.06 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.84 and a 52-week high of $101.79. The stock has a market cap of $47.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $90.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.12 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NDAQ shares. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.80.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 92,840 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.08, for a total value of $8,363,027.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,079,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $187,305,415.84. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 697,340 shares of company stock valued at $66,803,072. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.