California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 98,679 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 8.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,029,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 98,679 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.18% of Nasdaq worth $87,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,652,000 after buying an additional 10,110 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 22.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 2,584 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 345.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its stake in Nasdaq by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 11,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Ab Investor bought 56,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 58,439,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,024,603,103.84. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $19,530,126. The trade was a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,551 shares of company stock valued at $2,225,990. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $91.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $51.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.99. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.55 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.68.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NDAQ. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Nasdaq from $104.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price objective on Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Nasdaq from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.42.

Nasdaq Company 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.