Empowered Funds LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 43.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,341 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Nasdaq by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,855,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,329,000 after buying an additional 45,783 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 61,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,933,000 after buying an additional 13,160 shares during the period. MKP Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,996,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,245,000. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth about $4,872,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 11,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.35, for a total value of $1,060,813.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 205,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,751,846.35. This represents a 5.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Ab Investor bought 56,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 58,439,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,024,603,103.84. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 41,797 shares of company stock worth $3,926,319 over the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $94.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $52.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.55 and a fifty-two week high of $101.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $88.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.12.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 36.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $111.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $113.00 target price on Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.30.

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.