Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Sold by Morningstar Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Morningstar Investment Management LLC cut its Nasdaq stake by 87.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 75,980 shares and leaving it with 10,611 shares valued at about $1.03 million.
• Nasdaq reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, with EPS of $0.96 versus $0.93 expected and revenue of $2.14 billion, up 13.7% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share, or $1.24 annualized, while analysts maintain a generally positive view with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.15.

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 87.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 75,980 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 7.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Nasdaq by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in Nasdaq by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Nasdaq by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in Nasdaq by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 8,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $831,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total transaction of $700,222.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 141,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,808,798.70. The trade was a 5.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 113,611 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,965,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,953,765.44. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 231,002 shares of company stock valued at $20,295,941 in the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $91.01 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $87.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.92. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.09 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

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

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NDAQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised shares of Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Argus raised shares of Nasdaq to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.15.

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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