Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 15.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,577,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 291,008 shares during the period. Nasdaq makes up 1.2% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.28% of Nasdaq worth $139,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 3.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,652,000 after purchasing an additional 10,110 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 35.9% during the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 64,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,737,000 after buying an additional 16,950 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $86.30 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $49.28 billion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.01. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.84 and a 52 week high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 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 business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. 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 dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total transaction of $29,073,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $186,542,349.73. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 604,500 shares of company stock worth $58,440,045 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on NDAQ. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Nasdaq from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up previously from $99.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.