Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,268,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 27,622 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.40% of Nasdaq worth $172,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 194.6% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 1,509.5% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 338 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Nasdaq Stock Up 0.5%
NDAQ stock opened at $89.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.95 and a fifty-two week high of $90.35. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $83.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.26. The company has a market cap of $51.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.01.
Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The business's revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Nasdaq Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. This is an increase from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Nasdaq's payout ratio is currently 49.09%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.17, for a total transaction of $187,702.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 94,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,475.52. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total transaction of $1,022,715.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 111,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,867,680.45. This represents a 9.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,613 shares of company stock valued at $1,874,659. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms recently commented on NDAQ. Oppenheimer set a $96.00 price objective on Nasdaq and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Nasdaq from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $74.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.06.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Nasdaq
Nasdaq Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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