Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,589,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,786 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 1.85% of Nasdaq worth $1,028,576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in Nasdaq by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in Nasdaq by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 8,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $831,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $87.28 on Monday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.09 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.36 billion, a PE ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 32.53%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total transaction of $117,508.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,104.98. The trade was a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 215,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,530,126. This represents a 6.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 138,162 shares of company stock worth $11,932,913. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NDAQ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.15.

Nasdaq Profile

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.