Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 296,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 34,898 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $17,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 79,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,861,000 after buying an additional 10,125 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Nasdaq by 4.9% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 55,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 2,596 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,169,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,805,000 after buying an additional 91,327 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 46,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,264,000 after buying an additional 3,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth about $283,000. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Nasdaq from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. StockNews.com lowered Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Nasdaq from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.92.

Nasdaq Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $60.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $35.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.04, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.94. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.88 and a 12 month high of $64.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. Nasdaq’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 46.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nasdaq news, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total value of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,341,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,383,809,610. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.89, for a total value of $181,826.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,511,710.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total value of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,341,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,383,809,610. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,010,436 shares of company stock worth $1,798,647,360 in the last ninety days. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nasdaq Company 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.