Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 868,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 169,423 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $84,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 8,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total transaction of $117,508.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $896,104.98. The trade was a 11.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total transaction of $700,222.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 141,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,808,798.70. This represents a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 231,002 shares of company stock valued at $20,295,941 over the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on NDAQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price objective on Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price objective on Nasdaq and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.15.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $92.60 on Tuesday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.09 and a 52-week high of $101.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $87.35 and a 200-day moving average of $89.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.53%.

Nasdaq 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.