Strs Ohio Buys 102,586 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Strs Ohio increased its stake in Nasdaq by 16.9% in Q4, buying 102,586 shares to hold 709,947 shares worth about $68.96 million (0.12% of the company).
• Nasdaq beat estimates with quarterly EPS of $0.96 vs $0.93 and revenue of $2.14B (up 13.7% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 (annualized $1.24, ~1.4% yield).
• Insiders have sold 531,002 shares (~$49.37M) in the past 90 days — including Cohen Tal’s sale of 15,518 shares — while hedge funds and other institutions own about 72.47% of the stock.

Strs Ohio grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 709,947 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 102,586 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned 0.12% of Nasdaq worth $68,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.15.

Insider Activity

In other Nasdaq news, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total transaction of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 215,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,530,126. The trade was a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total transaction of $117,508.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $896,104.98. The trade was a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 531,002 shares of company stock valued at $49,368,941 over the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nasdaq Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $91.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average of $86.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.51, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.02. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.86 and a 52 week high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. Nasdaq's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. 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. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Nasdaq's payout ratio is presently 37.35%.

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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