Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,338,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,641 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $206,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Front Row Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $28,917,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $185,541,400.17. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Nasdaq

Here are the key news stories impacting Nasdaq this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus — $0.96 EPS vs ~$0.92 expected and $1.39B revenue (up ~13% YoY); management called out record revenue for the year. Nasdaq Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Solutions revenue growth and AI initiatives were highlighted as durable organic drivers — management pointed to product uptake and deal activity supporting higher-margin software revenue. NDAQ Q4 Deep Dive: Solutions Revenue and AI Initiatives Drive Robust Growth Amid Margin Compression
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifted targets and ratings after results: JPMorgan raised to $101 (Overweight), TD Cowen to $105 (Hold) and RBC reaffirmed Outperform with $108 target — adds buy-side momentum. Benzinga Analyst Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.27/share (payable Mar 30), maintaining shareholder cash return policy. Nasdaq Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.27 Per Share
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and transcript provide more color on buy-side activity, index licensing and fintech deals; useful for modeling recurring Solutions revenue cadence. Nasdaq Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Slide deck and presentation posted with segment detail (index, market services, and solutions) — helps analysts refine FY guidance assumptions. Nasdaq Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Margins compressed and management flagged higher operating expenses; the company tweaked its expense view, which could pressure near-term profitability despite revenue growth. Nasdaq Beats Q4 Earnings & Revenue Estimates, Tweaks Expense View

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on NDAQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $99.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.13.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ stock opened at $96.89 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $95.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.66. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.84 and a fifty-two week high of $101.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $55.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.36, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.77%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.57%.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.