The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 127,336 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,535,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 127,336 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.80% of Nasdaq worth $385,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,106,000 after buying an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,652,000 after buying an additional 10,110 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew 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 acquiring an additional 2,584 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 4.4% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 11,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, major shareholder Ab Investor purchased 56,782 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $85.98 per share, with a total value of $4,882,116.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,439,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,024,603,103.84. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $113.00 price objective (up from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised 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 Monday, July 20th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $111.00 price target (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.73.

Nasdaq Stock Up 2.0%

NDAQ stock opened at $93.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $87.46 and a 200-day moving average of $88.40. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.55 and a fifty-two week high of $101.79. The company has a market capitalization of $52.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.39, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 18.38% and a net margin of 22.60%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.15%.

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.