Phoenix Financial Ltd. Cuts Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 64.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 34,874 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp boosted 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 buying an additional 13,160 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted 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 buying an additional 22,685 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted 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 buying an additional 19,078 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 3,848,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 15,739 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total transaction of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 215,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,530,126. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total transaction of $117,508.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,089 shares in the company, valued at $896,104.98. This represents a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 231,002 shares of company stock valued at $20,295,941. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NDAQ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital set a $113.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.15.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.1%

NDAQ stock opened at $91.06 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $87.26 and a 200-day moving average of $89.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.50 billion, a PE ratio of 27.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.98. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $77.09 and a one year high of $101.79.

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

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 32.53%.

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.