Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 304,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,604 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $25,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $78.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.65. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.09 and a 12 month high of $101.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.43 billion, a PE ratio of 23.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.97.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. Nasdaq’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 37.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Loop Capital set a $113.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $104.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total transaction of $1,408,258.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 215,208 shares in the company, valued at $19,530,126. The trade was a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 113,611 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total transaction of $9,706,923.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,965,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,953,765.44. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 138,162 shares of company stock valued at $11,932,913. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

About Nasdaq

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.