LGT Capital Partners LTD. Lowers Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

LGT Capital Partners LTD. decreased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 479,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 169,913 shares during the period. Nasdaq makes up approximately 2.1% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $42,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NDAQ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 6.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,275,902,000 after acquiring an additional 3,848,406 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,274,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,438,897,000 after purchasing an additional 6,840,735 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,456,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,020,366,000 after purchasing an additional 89,391 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the second quarter valued at about $406,823,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 55.7% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,535,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $316,515,000 after buying an additional 1,264,975 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NDAQ shares. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.13.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $28,917,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $185,541,400.17. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 604,500 shares of company stock worth $58,440,045 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $79.92 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $45.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.84 and a 52-week high of $101.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.51.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.12 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 quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 34.95%.

About Nasdaq

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.