SPC Financial Inc. Sells 901 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

SPC Financial Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 901 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 35.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 21,000 shares in the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $274,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Nasdaq by 75.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 44,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,454,000 after buying an additional 9,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at $856,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ opened at $78.76 on Wednesday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.75 and a 1 year high of $84.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $79.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.13. The firm has a market cap of $45.30 billion, a PE ratio of 41.02, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.99.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NDAQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.88.

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.