R Squared Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• R Squared Ltd cut its Nasdaq stake by 87%, selling 17,686 shares and retaining 2,642 shares worth about $257,000.
• Company insiders have been heavy sellers—CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares for roughly $29.07M, and insiders sold 523,292 shares (~$48.67M) in the last quarter, leaving insiders with 0.70% ownership.
• Nasdaq beat Q results with $0.96 EPS (vs. $0.93 est.) and $2.14B revenue (vs. $1.42B est.), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 (annualized $1.24, yield 1.4%).

R Squared Ltd lessened its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 87.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,642 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,686 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $91.27 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.11 and a 12 month high of $101.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $86.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.64. The company has a market cap of $51.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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 predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Nasdaq's payout ratio is 37.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Argus upgraded Nasdaq to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.15.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total value of $29,073,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $186,542,349.73. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total transaction of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 215,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,530,126. The trade was a 6.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 523,292 shares of company stock valued at $48,668,718. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq 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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