Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Has $110.12 Million Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP decreased its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 8.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,297,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 120,561 shares during the quarter. Nasdaq makes up about 1.6% of Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $110,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth $530,100,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $900,061,000 after acquiring an additional 3,567,843 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 82.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 6,073,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $589,897,000 after acquiring an additional 2,736,322 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P grew its position in Nasdaq by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,621,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $837,425,000 after acquiring an additional 2,716,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Nasdaq by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,619,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,735,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404,348 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 11,010 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $1,034,499.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 216,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,296,393.56. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $1,203,930.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 128,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,881,214.73. This represents a 9.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 30,787 shares of company stock valued at $2,865,505 over the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on NDAQ shares. Zacks Research upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price objective on Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $109.73.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $95.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.99. 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 twelve month low of $76.55 and a twelve month high of $101.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.32.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 18.38% and a net margin of 22.60%.The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.13 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.15%.

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.