Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Decreases Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,115 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $7,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 106.6% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 94.2% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.4 %

NDAQ opened at $76.91 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.38. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.10 and a 52 week high of $84.15. The company has a market capitalization of $44.23 billion, a PE ratio of 40.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. Analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. The trade was a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NDAQ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup increased their price target on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.88.

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.