Blue Trust Inc. Cuts Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 61.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,757 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $84,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 28,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $81.07 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $46.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.22, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.55. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.51 and a fifty-two week high of $84.15.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.88.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of Nasdaq 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.