Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Reduces Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership reduced its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 546,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 57,322 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.10% of Nasdaq worth $48,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.8% in 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 increased its position in Nasdaq by 40.7% during 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 during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 22.0% in 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. lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 345.5% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the second quarter valued at approximately $375,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,568,656.74. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $185,541,400.17. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 604,500 shares of company stock worth $58,440,045 in the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $87.58 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.84 and a fifty-two week high of $101.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.27. The company has a market cap of $49.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 34.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NDAQ shares. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Argus upgraded shares of Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.80.

Nasdaq 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.