Kestra Investment Management LLC Takes $33,000 Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 3.6% during 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 last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 4.2% in the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on NDAQ. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Argus upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 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 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 value of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,778.56. This represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.8 %

Nasdaq stock opened at $81.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $55.51 and a one year high of $84.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.99.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

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.