Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Sold by Morningstar Investment Management LLC

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 87.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 75,980 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 40.7% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 2,584 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 345.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 11,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NDAQ opened at $91.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.47 billion, a PE ratio of 27.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.98. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.09 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.92.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 113,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total transaction of $9,706,923.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,965,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,953,765.44. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total transaction of $700,222.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 141,035 shares in the company, valued at $12,808,798.70. The trade was a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 231,002 shares of company stock worth $20,295,941 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.15.

Nasdaq Company 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.