Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Sold by Phoenix Financial Ltd.

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. cut its stake in Nasdaq by 64.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 34,874 shares and leaving it with 19,287 shares worth about $1.87 million.
• Nasdaq insiders were also selling: SVP Michelle Lynn Daly and EVP Bradley J. Peterson both trimmed positions, and insiders sold 231,002 shares worth about $20.3 million over the past 90 days.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.96 and revenue of $2.14 billion, both topping expectations; Nasdaq also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 64.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,287 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,874 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 8,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total transaction of $117,508.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $896,104.98. This represents a 11.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total transaction of $700,222.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 141,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,808,798.70. The trade was a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 231,002 shares of company stock valued at $20,295,941 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NDAQ shares. Argus upgraded shares of Nasdaq to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. TD Cowen raised shares of Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One 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, Nasdaq currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.15.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $91.06 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $87.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.70. The company has a market capitalization of $51.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.98. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.09 and a 1 year high of $101.79. 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 business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

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

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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