First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 5,923 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 161,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,923 shares during the quarter. Nasdaq makes up about 2.6% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $12,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,576,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,064,682,000 after purchasing an additional 376,893 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,018,705 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $849,783,000 after acquiring an additional 257,465 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,379,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $802,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,672 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,954,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $537,640,000 after purchasing an additional 335,565 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,005,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $464,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ traded up $0.41 during trading on Thursday, hitting $89.93. 1,433,250 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,048,127. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.95 and a fifty-two week high of $90.45. The stock has a market cap of $51.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $82.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.20.

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

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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 1.20%. This is a boost from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Nasdaq from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total value of $47,179.17. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 61,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,450,783.80. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.17, for a total transaction of $187,702.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 94,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,440,475.52. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,270 shares of company stock worth $1,921,838 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.