Dearborn Partners LLC Sells 77,649 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Dearborn Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 19.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 328,867 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 77,649 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of Nasdaq worth $24,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,274,000 after acquiring an additional 3,096 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 61.1% during the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 17,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,353,000 after buying an additional 6,764 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,268,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $172,098,000 after buying an additional 27,622 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth about $48,749,000. Finally, FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the 1st quarter worth about $222,000. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 111,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,867,680.45. This represents a 9.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.17, for a total value of $187,702.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 94,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,440,475.52. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,304 shares of company stock valued at $2,686,833. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.1%

NDAQ stock traded down $1.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $95.17. 2,845,954 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,354,254. The firm's 50 day moving average is $88.02 and its 200 day moving average is $81.12. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.33 and a twelve month high of $97.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $54.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 18.59%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $101.00 target price (up from $96.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $96.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.63.

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.