Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,501,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 292,468 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $534,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total value of $700,222.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 141,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,808,798.70. The trade was a 5.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total transaction of $117,508.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,104.98. This represents a 11.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 138,162 shares of company stock valued at $11,932,913. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Trading Up 1.9%

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $88.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $50.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $88.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.08. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.09 and a 52 week high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

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

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.