Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 242,470 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,240,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 242,470 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.39% of Nasdaq worth $173,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the third quarter worth $27,000. Founders Capital Management acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the third quarter worth $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 106.6% in the fourth 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 position in Nasdaq in the third quarter worth $35,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on NDAQ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Nasdaq from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NDAQ stock opened at $80.91 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $79.54 and its 200-day moving average is $76.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $46.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.99. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.90 and a twelve month high of $84.15.

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

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

About Nasdaq

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.