Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Stake Lowered by Liontrust Investment Partners LLP

Key Points

• Liontrust Investment Partners LLP reduced its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 3.7%, holding approximately 2.1 million shares valued at $156.6 million.
• Several hedge funds increased their positions in Nasdaq, with Ameriprise Financial expanding its holdings by 37.9% during the fourth quarter.
• Nasdaq reported earnings of $0.85 per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate, along with a revenue increase of 12.7% year-over-year.

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP lessened its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,063,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 80,395 shares during the quarter. Nasdaq accounts for approximately 2.4% of Liontrust Investment Partners LLP's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP owned approximately 0.36% of Nasdaq worth $156,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 8,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,303 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,260,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in Nasdaq by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 4,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,829 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 194.6% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $93.83. 2,440,351 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,308,475. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.84 and a 52 week high of $97.63. The firm has a market cap of $53.84 billion, a PE ratio of 36.09, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50 day moving average price is $91.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The company's revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $101.00 price objective (up previously from $96.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total transaction of $201,006.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 92,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,837,694.99. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total value of $664,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 211,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold 32,409 shares of company stock valued at $2,887,839 over the last three months. 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.