Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 283,854 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,033,521 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 283,854 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.18% of Nasdaq worth $79,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Founders Capital Management bought a new position in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 106.6% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total value of $47,179.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,450,783.80. This trade represents a 1.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. The trade was a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,116 shares of company stock worth $1,434,818 in the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NDAQ shares. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Citigroup cut their target price on Nasdaq from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.18.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of Nasdaq stock traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,810,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,809,197. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.28 and a 12-month high of $84.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $75.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.45. The company has a market cap of $43.27 billion, a PE ratio of 39.25, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. Analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Nasdaq's payout ratio is currently 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.