Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Sold by Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.

Key Points

• Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. reduced its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. by 69.6%, holding 68,473 shares valued at approximately $5.19 million after the sale of 156,819 shares in the first quarter.
• Institutional and hedge fund ownership of Nasdaq is significant, with 72.47% of the stock currently held by these investors.
• Analyst ratings for Nasdaq have shifted positively, with UBS upgrading it to a "buy" and raising the target price from $95.00 to $115.00.

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lowered its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 69.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 156,819 shares during the quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.'s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $5,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 194.6% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 1,509.5% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 338 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the first quarter valued at $26,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.45, for a total value of $812,173.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $829,742.55. This trade represents a 49.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total transaction of $201,006.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 92,551 shares in the company, valued at $8,837,694.99. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,409 shares of company stock worth $2,223,599. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NDAQ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $96.00 price target (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.06.

Nasdaq Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ NDAQ traded down $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $94.73. 880,559 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,237,898. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $54.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.02. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $93.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.87. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.84 and a 12-month high of $97.63.

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

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.54%.

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.