Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 32.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 544,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 260,347 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.09% of Nasdaq worth $42,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth about $124,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 88.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 117,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,605,000 after acquiring an additional 55,202 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 9.1% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 13.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 46,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,362,000 after purchasing an additional 5,415 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Nasdaq by 39.4% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 104,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,645,000 after purchasing an additional 29,568 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.88.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. The trade was a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ stock opened at $77.67 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $79.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.54. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.10 and a 52-week high of $84.15. The company has a market capitalization of $44.67 billion, a PE ratio of 40.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly 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%. Analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

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.