Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,873,820 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 61,149 shares during the quarter. Nasdaq comprises 1.4% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of Nasdaq worth $142,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $4,064,682,000 after buying an additional 376,893 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,018,705 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $849,783,000 after buying an additional 257,465 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,379,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $802,401,000 after buying an additional 1,225,672 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Nasdaq by 5.1% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 335,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,005,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $464,676,000 after buying an additional 1,650,201 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. UBS Group reissued a "cautious" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Nasdaq from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.19.

Nasdaq Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ NDAQ traded down $0.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $86.10. The stock had a trading volume of 4,458,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,007,602. 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 has a market capitalization of $49.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.00. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $58.76 and a one year high of $87.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.76.

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

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.09%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total transaction of $47,179.17. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 8,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total transaction of $664,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 211,405 shares in the company, valued at $17,552,957.15. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.