PGGM Investments Lowers Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

PGGM Investments decreased its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,627 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Nasdaq were worth $530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Nasdaq by 74.9% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Nasdaq by 158.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ opened at $60.08 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $60.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.88 and a 12-month high of $64.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.56 billion, a PE ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.93.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The business’s revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 46.32%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 7,400 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.91, for a total transaction of $465,534.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,672 shares in the company, valued at $3,879,785.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total value of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,341,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,383,809,610. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 7,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.91, for a total transaction of $465,534.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,879,785.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Nasdaq from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Nasdaq from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Nasdaq from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.92.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.