Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Sells 80,687 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Manning & Napier Advisors reduced its Nasdaq stake by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 80,687 shares and leaving it with 780,977 shares valued at about $76.7 million.
• Nasdaq reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.96 beating estimates and revenue of $2.14 billion topping expectations, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share from $0.27, and analysts remain generally positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $107.15.

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC decreased its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 780,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 80,687 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC owned 0.14% of Nasdaq worth $76,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Nasdaq by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter worth $45,000. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 112.9% in the third quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 579 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 71.5% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $88.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $86.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.66. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.09 and a 1 year high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This is an increase from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is 32.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nasdaq news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 113,611 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total transaction of $9,706,923.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,965,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $167,953,765.44. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total value of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 215,208 shares in the company, valued at $19,530,126. This represents a 6.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 231,002 shares of company stock worth $20,295,941. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NDAQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.15.

Nasdaq Profile

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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