Bensler LLC Has $3.21 Million Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Bensler LLC decreased its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 2.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 42,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 929 shares during the quarter. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $3,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verity & Verity LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 511,726 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,820,000 after purchasing an additional 11,978 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 1,455,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $107,834,000 after purchasing an additional 15,453 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 19,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 61.1% during the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 17,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 6,764 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total transaction of $47,179.17. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,450,783.80. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,616 shares of company stock worth $1,813,598. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $86.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.61. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.28 and a 52-week high of $87.50.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 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.