Montag A & Associates Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Montag A & Associates Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 32.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,268 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $3,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Nasdaq by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,855,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,329,000 after purchasing an additional 45,783 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Nasdaq by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 61,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,933,000 after purchasing an additional 13,160 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth about $1,245,000. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $4,872,000. Finally, MKP Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $33,996,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ opened at $86.43 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $87.46 and a 200-day moving average of $89.15. The company has a market capitalization of $48.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.03, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.99. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.55 and a 1-year high of $101.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 target price on Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $104.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total transaction of $700,222.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 141,035 shares in the company, valued at $12,808,798.70. The trade was a 5.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total transaction of $117,508.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,104.98. This represents a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 24,551 shares of company stock worth $2,225,990 in the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Nasdaq

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.