B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Trims Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG reduced its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. by 8.1%, selling 4,102 shares and holding 46,682 shares valued at approximately $3.54 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., increased their stakes in Nasdaq, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Nasdaq, Inc. reported earnings of $0.85 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG trimmed its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 8.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,682 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,102 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $3,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 8,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $669,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Nasdaq by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 30,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,303 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in Nasdaq by 7.1% during the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,829 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Nasdaq by 194.6% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NDAQ. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $95.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group upgraded Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total value of $201,006.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 92,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,837,694.99. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total value of $1,022,715.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 111,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,867,680.45. The trade was a 9.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,409 shares of company stock valued at $2,223,599 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NDAQ traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $94.74. 1,742,320 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,538,743. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.84 and a 1 year high of $97.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.44, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.02. The business's 50-day moving average price is $92.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.27.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.07. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 18.59%.The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Nasdaq's payout ratio is 41.54%.

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.