LGT Capital Partners LTD. Cuts Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Key Points

• LGT Capital Partners LTD. reduced its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. by 22.8%, leaving them with 786,824 shares valued at approximately $59.7 million.
• Nasdaq recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.1%.
• The company's stock price has seen a 1.1% decrease, with an opening price of $95.17, amidst mixed analyst sentiments and revised price targets following recent earnings.

LGT Capital Partners LTD. cut its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 22.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 786,824 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 232,196 shares during the period. Nasdaq comprises approximately 2.7% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. LGT Capital Partners LTD. owned about 0.14% of Nasdaq worth $59,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Nasdaq by 194.6% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Nasdaq by 1,509.5% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 338 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the first quarter worth about $26,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.1%

NDAQ stock opened at $95.17 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $88.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.28. The company has a market capitalization of $54.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.33 and a 12 month high of $97.07.

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

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Nasdaq from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $96.00 price objective (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.63.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 8,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at $829,742.55. This trade represents a 49.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.17, for a total transaction of $187,702.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 94,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,475.52. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,304 shares of company stock worth $2,686,833. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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