Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Los Angeles Capital Management cut its Nasdaq stake by 63.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 31,223 shares and leaving it with 17,784 shares valued at about $1.73 million.
• Nasdaq reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.96 beating estimates and revenue of $2.14 billion also 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 broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $107.15.

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 63.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,223 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position 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 grew its stake in Nasdaq by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its stake in Nasdaq by 1.5% in 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 institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded Nasdaq to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen raised Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price objective on Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.15.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $86.72 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $49.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average of $88.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.11. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.09 and a 52 week 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.

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

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is 32.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 113,611 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total transaction of $117,508.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $896,104.98. The trade was a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 138,162 shares of company stock worth $11,932,913. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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