Hartford Investment Management Co. Reduces Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 25,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 123 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $2,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 12.3% during the second quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 743,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,480,000 after acquiring an additional 81,621 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter worth about $217,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 89.7% during the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in Nasdaq by 8.6% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Nasdaq by 1.2% in the second quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,437,000 after buying an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $87.51 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.84 and a 12-month high of $97.63. The company has a market capitalization of $50.21 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $93.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.07. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 18.59%.The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. Nasdaq’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NDAQ shares. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Nasdaq from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $101.00 target price (up previously from $96.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays upped their target price on Nasdaq from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.06.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total transaction of $201,006.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,837,694.99. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.45, for a total value of $812,173.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $829,742.55. The trade was a 49.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,409 shares of company stock valued at $2,223,599 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.