Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Decreases Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership trimmed its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 9.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 546,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 57,322 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $48,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 40.7% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 345.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $375,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NDAQ shares. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on Nasdaq and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at $186,542,349.73. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 604,500 shares of company stock valued at $58,440,045 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.1%

NDAQ opened at $87.58 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.84 and a 12 month high of $101.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $92.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its 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 net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.95%.

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.