Bensler LLC Sells 256 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Bensler LLC lowered its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 256 shares during the quarter. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $2,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 59,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,598,000 after purchasing an additional 17,074 shares during the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 49.4% during the second quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 567,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,222,000 after buying an additional 187,700 shares during the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 29,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,786,000 after buying an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,443,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,272,000 after buying an additional 82,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, major shareholder Seller Lp Argus sold 42,804,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total value of $2,764,295,688.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,804,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,764,295,688.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $76.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays upped their target price on Nasdaq from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Nasdaq from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.54.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ traded up $0.46 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.05. 1,515,962 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,942,435. The stock has a market cap of $40.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.15, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.88 and a 12-month high of $71.16.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.45% and a net margin of 14.43%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Nasdaq’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.53%.

Nasdaq 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.