Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Cuts Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 169,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,076 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $13,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Nasdaq by 163.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,833,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,835,235,000 after buying an additional 24,084,154 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 13,532.3% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,040,000 after acquiring an additional 3,970,658 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,951,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,310,653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811,616 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth approximately $110,867,000. Finally, Harris Associates L P grew its position in Nasdaq by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,596,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $627,596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096,090 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $80.91 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $79.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.01. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.90 and a 1 year high of $84.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.50 billion, a PE ratio of 42.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.99.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on NDAQ. Barclays dropped their price target on Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.88.

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.