Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 21,641 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,338,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,641 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of Nasdaq worth $206,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in Nasdaq by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,652,000 after purchasing an additional 10,110 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 2,584 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 345.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 47,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,278,000 after buying an additional 4,676 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on NDAQ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price (up from $99.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.13.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $96.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.74 and a 200 day moving average of $92.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.02. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.84 and a 1 year high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.77%.The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.57%.

Nasdaq News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Nasdaq this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus — $0.96 EPS vs ~$0.92 expected and $1.39B revenue (up ~13% YoY); management called out record revenue for the year. Nasdaq Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Solutions revenue growth and AI initiatives were highlighted as durable organic drivers — management pointed to product uptake and deal activity supporting higher-margin software revenue. NDAQ Q4 Deep Dive: Solutions Revenue and AI Initiatives Drive Robust Growth Amid Margin Compression
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifted targets and ratings after results: JPMorgan raised to $101 (Overweight), TD Cowen to $105 (Hold) and RBC reaffirmed Outperform with $108 target — adds buy-side momentum. Benzinga Analyst Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.27/share (payable Mar 30), maintaining shareholder cash return policy. Nasdaq Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.27 Per Share
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and transcript provide more color on buy-side activity, index licensing and fintech deals; useful for modeling recurring Solutions revenue cadence. Nasdaq Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Slide deck and presentation posted with segment detail (index, market services, and solutions) — helps analysts refine FY guidance assumptions. Nasdaq Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Margins compressed and management flagged higher operating expenses; the company tweaked its expense view, which could pressure near-term profitability despite revenue growth. Nasdaq Beats Q4 Earnings & Revenue Estimates, Tweaks Expense View

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $28,917,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $185,541,400.17. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.