Bessemer Group Inc. Trims Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 9.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,927,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 306,083 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $258,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,652,000 after purchasing an additional 10,110 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,584 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Nasdaq by 345.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Nasdaq by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 47,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,278,000 after buying an additional 4,676 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total transaction of $29,073,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,542,349.73. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 604,500 shares of company stock valued at $58,440,045 over the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $88.49 on Thursday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.84 and a 1-year high of $101.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.85 and a 200-day moving average of $92.67. The firm has a market cap of $50.53 billion, a PE ratio of 28.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.77%.The business had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. Nasdaq’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 34.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Nasdaq from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price (up previously from $99.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.13.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.