Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 157,014 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,582,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 157,014 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.85% of Nasdaq worth $936,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 3,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in Nasdaq by 4.6% during the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 3.3% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on NDAQ. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price objective on Nasdaq and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.80.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total transaction of $29,073,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,542,349.73. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were 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 directly owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 697,340 shares of company stock worth $66,803,072. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $87.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $49.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $91.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.89. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.84 and a 1 year high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.77%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.95%.

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.