Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 16,346 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its Nasdaq stake by 63.1% in the first quarter, selling 16,346 shares and retaining 9,546 shares valued at approximately $810,000. Institutional investors collectively own 72.47% of Nasdaq’s stock.
• Nasdaq reported quarterly earnings of $1.07 per share, exceeding the $0.98 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 14.9% year over year to $2.53 billion. Shares recently opened at $94.19, within a 12-month range of $76.55 to $101.79.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, representing an annualized payout of $1.24 and a 1.3% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $109.73.

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 63.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,546 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,346 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Nasdaq were worth $810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,916,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,819,727,000 after purchasing an additional 268,481 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,627,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,683,485,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258,964 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,878,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,930,808,000 after purchasing an additional 259,408 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,851,894 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,243,807,000 after purchasing an additional 378,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Nasdaq by 62.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $900,061,000 after buying an additional 3,567,843 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $94.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $52.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.55 and a 12 month high of $101.79. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $87.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.36.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 18.38% and a net margin of 22.60%.The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $1,203,930.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 128,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,881,214.73. This trade represents a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 11,010 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.35, for a total transaction of $1,060,813.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 205,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,751,846.35. The trade was a 5.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 41,797 shares of company stock worth $3,926,319. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world's leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.

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