Aristotle Capital Boston LLC Sells 42,513 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Aristotle Capital Boston LLC trimmed its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 41.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 42,513 shares during the period. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $4,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,576,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,064,682,000 after acquiring an additional 376,893 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,018,705 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $849,783,000 after purchasing an additional 257,465 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Nasdaq by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,379,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $802,401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,672 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Nasdaq by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,954,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $537,640,000 after buying an additional 335,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth $424,285,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $78.08. 1,282,105 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,784,261. The company has a market capitalization of $44.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.00. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.28 and a 12 month high of $84.15. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $74.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.63. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. Nasdaq's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NDAQ. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Nasdaq from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $74.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "cautious" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.18.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total value of $47,179.17. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,450,783.80. This represents a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nasdaq 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.