Farallon Capital Management LLC Has $309.09 Million Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,998,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 235,748 shares during the quarter. Nasdaq accounts for about 1.6% of Farallon Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Farallon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $309,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,576,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,064,682,000 after buying an additional 376,893 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Nasdaq by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,018,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $849,783,000 after purchasing an additional 257,465 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 13.4% in 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 buying an additional 1,225,672 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 335,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,005,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $464,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NDAQ. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Nasdaq from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.50.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total transaction of $47,179.17. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,450,783.80. This represents a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at $4,398,253.92. This represents 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.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $78.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $45.34 billion, a PE ratio of 41.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.00. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.28 and a 52 week high of $84.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.67.

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

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 49.09%.

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.