First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 161,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,923 shares during the period. Nasdaq accounts for approximately 2.6% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $12,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake 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 last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 1,509.5% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 338 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group reissued a "cautious" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Nasdaq from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total transaction of $47,179.17. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,450,783.80. This trade represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total value of $664,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 211,405 shares in the company, valued at $17,552,957.15. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $89.08 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $51.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock's fifty day moving average is $81.87 and its 200 day moving average is $78.99. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $59.46 and a one year high of $89.98.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 16.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.09%.

Nasdaq Company 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.

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