Guardian Partners Inc. Buys New Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 38,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,006,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Nasdaq by 25.4% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,795 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the third quarter worth approximately $124,000. Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in Nasdaq by 10.2% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 8,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in Nasdaq by 3.6% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the third quarter worth approximately $2,701,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on NDAQ. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair began coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and fourteen 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 $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $75.55 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $79.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.44. The stock has a market cap of $43.45 billion, a PE ratio of 39.35, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.10 and a fifty-two week high of $84.15. 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 (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. This trade represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.