Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Cuts Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 22.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 36,588 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $9,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Founders Capital Management purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 106.6% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $74.91 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.02, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $58.10 and a one year high of $84.15. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.63.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. As a group, analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. The trade was 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NDAQ shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.88.

Nasdaq Company 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.