Wellington Management Group LLP Decreases Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. by 6.4%, now owning approximately 32.73 million shares, valued at about $2.48 billion.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their positions, with notable stakes raised by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC by 7.7% and USA Financial Formulas by 61.1% during the same quarter.
• Nasdaq's stock received several upgrades from research analysts, with price targets raised significantly, reflecting a broader positive outlook as the company reported earnings exceeding estimates.

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,729,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,227,056 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 5.70% of Nasdaq worth $2,482,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Nasdaq by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,274,000 after acquiring an additional 3,096 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas raised its stake in Nasdaq by 61.1% during the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 17,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 6,764 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Nasdaq by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,268,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $172,098,000 after acquiring an additional 27,622 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth $48,749,000. Finally, FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the 1st quarter worth $222,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $95.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.06.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.45, for a total value of $812,173.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,879 shares in the company, valued at $829,742.55. This represents a 49.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total transaction of $201,006.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 92,551 shares in the company, valued at $8,837,694.99. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,409 shares of company stock valued at $2,887,839. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nasdaq Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NDAQ opened at $94.68 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm's 50-day moving average is $90.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.38. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.84 and a twelve month high of $97.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.42, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.00.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.07. Nasdaq had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.54%.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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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