Guinness Asset Management LTD Reduces Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Guinness Asset Management LTD decreased its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 13.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,225 shares during the quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Nasdaq by 74.9% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Nasdaq by 158.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Nasdaq by 313.7% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the third quarter worth $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $60.25. 3,096,117 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,103,230. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.88 and a 52-week high of $64.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.66 billion, a PE ratio of 31.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $60.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.77.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 50.53%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.89, for a total value of $181,826.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,511,710.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NDAQ shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Nasdaq from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $80.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Nasdaq from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Edward Jones started coverage on Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Nasdaq from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Nasdaq from $76.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

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.