First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 4,132 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 167,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,132 shares during the period. Nasdaq accounts for about 2.6% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $12,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NDAQ. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Nasdaq by 106.6% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.9 %

NDAQ opened at $81.21 on Tuesday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.90 and a fifty-two week high of $84.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.30, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $79.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.65.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. As a group, research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total value of $950,906.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,072,268.75. This represents a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This represents a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.88.

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.