Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,209,502 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 129,319 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.39% of Nasdaq worth $214,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 3.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in Nasdaq by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,652,000 after buying an additional 10,110 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Nasdaq by 22.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 2,584 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Nasdaq by 345.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its position in Nasdaq by 4.4% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 11,386 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,018,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Nasdaq news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total value of $117,508.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $896,104.98. The trade was a 11.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 113,611 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total transaction of $9,706,923.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,965,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $167,953,765.44. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 231,002 shares of company stock valued at $20,295,941 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus raised Nasdaq to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price target on Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.15.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ stock opened at $89.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $86.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.98. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.09 and a 52-week high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Nasdaq's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS 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 issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This is an increase from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.53%.

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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