Jones Financial Companies Lllp Raises Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 27.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,979 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $7,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Front Row Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the second quarter worth $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $28,917,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $185,541,400.17. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 604,500 shares of company stock valued at $58,440,045 over the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nasdaq Trading Down 3.4%

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $85.51 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.84 and a 12-month high of $101.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.62.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.77%.The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price (up previously from $99.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, January 12th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.13.

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.