Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 271 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in Nasdaq by 72.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $87.42 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $50.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.98. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.84 and a 12-month high of $97.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.65.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.46% and a net margin of 19.90%.The business’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NDAQ. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $101.00 price objective (up previously from $96.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $90.00 target price on Nasdaq and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays set a $109.00 target price on Nasdaq and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.56.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.45, for a total value of $812,173.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $829,742.55. This trade represents a 49.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total value of $201,006.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 92,551 shares in the company, valued at $8,837,694.99. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.70% 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.