Cumberland Partners Ltd Trims Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Cumberland Partners Ltd reduced its Nasdaq stake by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 25,715 shares and leaving it with 97,288 shares worth about $9.45 million.
• Analysts remain generally positive on Nasdaq, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $107.15. Recent notes included price-target raises from Barclays and JPMorgan, while Argus issued a strong-buy rating.
• Nasdaq reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $0.96 and revenue of $2.14 billion, and also announced a higher quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, up from $0.27.

Cumberland Partners Ltd trimmed its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,288 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,715 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $9,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 345.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the period. Finally, Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on NDAQ shares. Barclays upped their price target on Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 target price on Nasdaq and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded Nasdaq to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total value of $117,508.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,089 shares in the company, valued at $896,104.98. This trade represents a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total value of $700,222.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 141,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,808,798.70. This represents a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 231,002 shares of company stock valued at $20,295,941 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $91.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $51.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.98. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $77.09 and a one year high of $101.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $87.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.86.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is 32.53%.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world's leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NDAQ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.