Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Sold by Hudson Bay Capital Management LP

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP reduced its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 56.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 275,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 361,457 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $24,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 3.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,652,000 after acquiring an additional 10,110 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 22.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 2,584 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 345.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 75.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 92,840 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.08, for a total value of $8,363,027.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,079,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $187,305,415.84. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 697,340 shares of company stock worth $66,803,072 in the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $85.44 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $48.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $89.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.53. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.84 and a 1-year high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. Nasdaq’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors 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 yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.80.

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.