The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,954,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 335,565 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 1.21% of Nasdaq worth $537,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in Nasdaq by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 4,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NDAQ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Nasdaq from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "cautious" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,532,778.56. This represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,116 shares of company stock valued at $1,434,818. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Nasdaq stock traded up $2.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $78.18. 2,353,097 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,795,414. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.28 and a 12-month high of $84.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.55. The company has a market cap of $44.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.72, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.00.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. The business's revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Nasdaq's payout ratio is 49.09%.

Nasdaq 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.