Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 1,225,672 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,379,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,225,672 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.81% of Nasdaq worth $802,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 36,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,688 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 22,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,760,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in Nasdaq by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 97,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,528,000 after buying an additional 2,119 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,234,000. Finally, OneAscent Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth approximately $249,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. The trade was a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,532,778.56. This represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ stock opened at $74.91 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $79.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.63. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.10 and a 12 month high of $84.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $43.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. On average, analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NDAQ shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.88.

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.