Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Shares Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 58.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,036 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,176 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 54,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,010,000 after buying an additional 3,475 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 96.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,846 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 1,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,328,493 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $96,993,000 after buying an additional 55,248 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on NDAQ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.88.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ traded down $1.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $81.07. 2,154,658 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,685,481. The company has a market capitalization of $46.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.99. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.51 and a 52-week high of $84.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $79.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.41.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. Equities research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

About Nasdaq

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.