Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,582,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 157,014 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $936,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Front Row Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Nasdaq news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the business’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 transaction of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 92,840 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.08, for a total value of $8,363,027.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,079,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $187,305,415.84. The trade was a 4.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 697,340 shares of company stock worth $66,803,072. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $87.60 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.80 billion, a PE ratio of 28.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.03. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.84 and a fifty-two week high of $101.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $91.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.89.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 34.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NDAQ. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on Nasdaq and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.