Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 376,893 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,576,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 376,893 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.15% of Nasdaq worth $4,064,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Founders Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 during the period. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Down 0.6 %

Nasdaq stock traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $77.07. The stock had a trading volume of 906,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,612,055. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $58.10 and a one year high of $84.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.54. The company has a market capitalization of $44.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.14, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

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Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. On average, analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is 50.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.88.

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.