QRG Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 30.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,116 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $2,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Nasdaq by 3.8% in the 1st 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 raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,652,000 after acquiring an additional 10,110 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,584 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 463 shares during the period. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its stake in Nasdaq by 4.4% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 11,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total value of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 215,208 shares in the company, valued at $19,530,126. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total value of $117,508.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,104.98. The trade was a 11.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 24,551 shares of company stock valued at $2,225,990 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NDAQ traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $85.11. 361,073 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,058,800. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $87.53 and its 200-day moving average is $89.20. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.55 and a 1 year high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 37.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Nasdaq from $104.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Loop Capital set a $113.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.54.

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.