Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 17,796 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 149,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,796 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $13,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 5.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,989,636,000 after purchasing an additional 2,820,339 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,274,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,438,897,000 after buying an additional 6,840,735 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Nasdaq by 0.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,456,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,020,366,000 after purchasing an additional 89,391 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the second quarter valued at $406,823,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,535,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $316,515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,975 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.40, for a total value of $179,767.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 84,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,256,779.60. The trade was a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $28,917,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $185,541,400.17. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 306,605 shares of company stock valued at $29,546,812 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $111.00 price target (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays set a $115.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up previously from $99.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.47.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.5%

NDAQ opened at $98.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.84 and a fifty-two week high of $101.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $92.08 and its 200 day moving average is $91.63.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.06. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 19.90%.The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Nasdaq’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.57%.

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.