Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Sold by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs trimmed its Nasdaq stake by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 292,468 shares and leaving it with about 5.5 million shares valued at roughly $534.3 million.
• Analysts remain constructive on Nasdaq, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.15; several firms recently lifted their targets, including Barclays and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
• Nasdaq reported better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its dividend to $0.31 per share, while insiders also sold shares in recent months.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,501,105 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 292,468 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.96% of Nasdaq worth $534,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in Nasdaq by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Nasdaq by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 8,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NDAQ has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Loop Capital set a $113.00 target price on Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Finally, Argus raised Nasdaq to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.15.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ stock opened at $88.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $50.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.97. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $88.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.08. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.09 and a 12-month high of $101.79.

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

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This is an increase from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total value of $700,222.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 141,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,808,798.70. This trade represents a 5.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total value 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 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 worth $11,932,913 over the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nasdaq Company 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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