AlphaQuest LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 97.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,341 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $50,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Front Row Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NDAQ. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Argus raised Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.13.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.6%

NDAQ opened at $79.47 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.84 and a 12 month high of $101.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.17.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.77%.Nasdaq’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.95%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $28,917,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $185,541,400.17. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 604,500 shares of company stock valued at $58,440,045. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.