Dearborn Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Dearborn Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 406,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,967 shares during the quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $31,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Nasdaq by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 80,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,185,000 after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares in the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 75.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 53,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,170,000 after purchasing an additional 23,244 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 44,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,454,000 after purchasing an additional 9,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $856,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NDAQ shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair began coverage on Nasdaq in a report on Monday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $72.85 on Tuesday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $79.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.28. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.96 and a 52-week high of $84.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 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.