Nicholas Company Inc. Sells 9,395 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Nicholas Company Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,395 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $8,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 61,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,933,000 after purchasing an additional 13,160 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 41.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 77,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,819,000 after purchasing an additional 22,685 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,561,000 after purchasing an additional 19,078 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,275,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,848,406 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 162.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 25,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,251,000 after purchasing an additional 15,739 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NDAQ opened at $88.91 on Monday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.09 and a 52 week high of $101.79. The firm has a market cap of $50.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Nasdaq’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.35%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total value of $700,222.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 141,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,808,798.70. This represents a 5.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 113,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total transaction of $9,706,923.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,965,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,953,765.44. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 231,002 shares of company stock worth $20,295,941 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NDAQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Argus raised shares of Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.15.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.