Wellington Management Group LLP Trims Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,802,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,434,233 shares during the period. Nasdaq accounts for 0.6% of Wellington Management Group LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 6.97% of Nasdaq worth $3,520,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Argus upgraded shares of Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.80.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $85.53 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.84 and a 12 month high of $101.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $48.62 billion, a PE ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $90.63 and its 200 day moving average is $90.74.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The company’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. Research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 34.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 92,840 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.08, for a total transaction of $8,363,027.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,079,323 shares in the company, valued at $187,305,415.84. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 697,340 shares of company stock worth $66,803,072. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.