Prudential PLC Buys 65,085 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Prudential PLC increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 88.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 138,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,085 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $10,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Founders Capital Management bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 106.6% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NDAQ opened at $68.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $39.25 billion, a PE ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.10 and a 12-month high of $84.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.62.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. Analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 50.00%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This represents 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays decreased 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.94.

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.