Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 46,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $3,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 167,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,924,000 after purchasing an additional 4,132 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Nasdaq by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 7,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 1,456 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 5,176 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 51,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 6,166 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $79.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.90 and a 12 month high of $84.15. The company has a market cap of $45.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.51 and its 200-day moving average is $75.78.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. Equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NDAQ shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total transaction of $950,906.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,072,268.75. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.