Headlands Technologies LLC Sells 25,180 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Headlands Technologies LLC decreased its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 33.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,180 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $3,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter worth $2,931,637,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,878,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,930,808,000 after purchasing an additional 259,408 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,851,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,243,807,000 after purchasing an additional 378,577 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $900,061,000 after purchasing an additional 3,567,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harris Associates L P boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,621,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $837,425,000 after purchasing an additional 2,716,280 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, major shareholder Ab Investor purchased 56,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $85.98 per share, with a total value of $4,882,116.36. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 58,439,208 shares in the company, valued at $5,024,603,103.84. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $1,203,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 128,293 shares in the company, valued at $11,881,214.73. This trade represents a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,797 shares of company stock valued at $3,926,319. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on NDAQ shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price target on Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $111.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.30.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $99.31 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $55.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $91.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.42. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $76.55 and a one year high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The business’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.15%.

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.