American Century Companies Inc. Has $183.73 Million Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 61.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,376,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 902,150 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.41% of Nasdaq worth $183,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Founders Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Nasdaq by 106.6% in 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 last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. The trade was a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on NDAQ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price target on Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.8 %

NDAQ stock opened at $75.55 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.10 and a fifty-two week high of $84.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.17 and a 200-day moving average of $77.44. 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 company has a market capitalization of $43.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.35, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Nasdaq Company 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.