Man Group plc Trims Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Man Group plc reduced its Nasdaq stake by 28.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 477,502 shares and ending with 1,191,561 shares valued at about $115.7 million.
• Nasdaq reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.96 beating estimates and revenue of $2.14 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 13.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share from $0.27, and analysts remain generally bullish with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.36.

Man Group plc cut its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 28.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,191,561 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 477,502 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.21% of Nasdaq worth $115,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 113,611 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total value of $9,706,923.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,965,751 shares in the company, valued at $167,953,765.44. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total transaction of $117,508.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $896,104.98. This trade represents a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 138,162 shares of company stock valued at $11,932,913 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Key Nasdaq News

Here are the key news stories impacting Nasdaq this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nasdaq continues to post solid underlying fundamentals, with recent earnings beating estimates and revenue growth remaining strong, while analysts still have a generally constructive view on the stock. NDAQ Outperforms Industry, Trades at a Premium: How to Play the Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Nasdaq shareholders approved the board, pay package, and auditor slate, reducing near-term governance uncertainty. Nasdaq Shareholders Endorse Board, Pay and Auditor Slate
• Positive Sentiment: A major shareholder, AB Investor, bought additional NDAQ shares, which can be read as a vote of confidence in the company’s longer-term outlook. Nasdaq NASDAQ: NDAQ Major Shareholder Ab Investor Acquires 56,782 Shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Nasdaq rebalanced the Nasdaq 100, adding five new AI and space-related entrants; this is notable for index composition but not necessarily a direct earnings driver today. Nasdaq (NDAQ) Rebalances The Nasdaq 100 With 5 New AI And Space Entrants
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appear concerned that tokenized-stock and blockchain-based trading could increase competition for traditional exchanges, weighing on Nasdaq and other market-structure names. Nasdaq Slides as Tokenized-Stock Shakeup Clouds Exchange Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Separate delisting notices for Smart Digital Group and QMMM highlight Nasdaq’s regulatory enforcement activity, but they are more likely a reminder of exchange oversight than a direct driver of NDAQ’s business outlook. Smart Digital Group Limited Notified of Anticipated Delisting from The Nasdaq Stock Market QMMM Holdings Limited Notified of Anticipated Delisting from The Nasdaq Stock Market

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NDAQ opened at $83.29 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $47.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.97. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.09 and a twelve month high of $101.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $88.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.07.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. Nasdaq's revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq's payout ratio is 37.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NDAQ. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.36.

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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