Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 34,898 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 296,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,898 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Nasdaq worth $17,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Nasdaq by 74.9% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 158.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $60.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $35.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.04, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 0.99. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.88 and a fifty-two week high of $64.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.75.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.02). Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley raised Nasdaq from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Edward Jones began coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total transaction of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,341,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,383,809,610. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 7,400 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 61,672 shares in the company, valued at $3,879,785.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,341,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,383,809,610. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,010,436 shares of company stock worth $1,798,647,360 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq 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.