First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 167,167 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,132 shares during the period. Nasdaq accounts for approximately 2.6% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $12,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 163.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,833,510 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,835,235,000 after acquiring an additional 24,084,154 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 13,532.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,000,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $292,040,000 after acquiring an additional 3,970,658 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,951,698 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,310,653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,811,616 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth $110,867,000. Finally, Harris Associates L P increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,596,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $627,596,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,090 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total value of $950,906.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,072,268.75. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,778.56. This represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. William Blair initiated coverage on Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NDAQ traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $80.91. The company had a trading volume of 2,011,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,775,788. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $79.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.99. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.90 and a 1 year high of $84.15.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq's payout ratio is 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.