CENTRAL TRUST Co Sells 139 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

CENTRAL TRUST Co reduced its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 139 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 13,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 4.2% during the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $81.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $79.54 and a 200-day moving average of $75.13. The company has a market cap of $46.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.99. 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 $54.90 and a one year high of $83.77.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. Equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NDAQ. Argus increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.88.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total transaction of $950,906.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,072,268.75. This represents a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.