Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $2.38 Million Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 550.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,033 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $2,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Nasdaq by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,576,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,064,682,000 after acquiring an additional 376,893 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Nasdaq by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,018,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $849,783,000 after acquiring an additional 257,465 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Nasdaq by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,379,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,672 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Nasdaq by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,954,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $537,640,000 after acquiring an additional 335,565 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Nasdaq by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,005,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $464,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $81.57 on Wednesday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.28 and a twelve month high of $84.15. The firm has a market cap of $46.83 billion, a PE ratio of 42.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.51 and a 200-day moving average of $77.81.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This is a positive change from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NDAQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Nasdaq from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Nasdaq from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Nasdaq from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Nasdaq from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $74.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total value of $47,179.17. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,980 shares in the company, valued at $4,450,783.80. This trade represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Nasdaq

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.