Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Position Trimmed by Kera Capital Partners Inc.

Kera Capital Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 93.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35,449 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.8%

Nasdaq stock opened at $90.24 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.55 and a 1-year high of $101.79. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.58. The company has a market capitalization of $51.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.99.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total transaction of $117,508.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total value of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 215,208 shares in the company, valued at $19,530,126. The trade was a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,551 shares of company stock worth $2,225,990. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NDAQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday. Barclays dropped their target price on Nasdaq from $114.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price target on Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price target on Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $108.00.

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.