Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 454,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,770 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.08% of Nasdaq worth $40,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions 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 lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,652,000 after acquiring an additional 10,110 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Nasdaq by 22.0% in the first 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. grew its stake in Nasdaq by 345.5% in the 1st 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 period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 47,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,278,000 after purchasing an additional 4,676 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NDAQ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, January 12th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 target price on Nasdaq and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.13.

Nasdaq Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $96.81 on Tuesday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.84 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $95.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $55.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Nasdaq news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $28,917,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $185,541,400.17. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.