Kestra Investment Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in Nasdaq by 3.6% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Nasdaq by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Nasdaq by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Nasdaq by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Nasdaq by 4.2% during the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,778.56. This represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $81.07 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.63 and its 200-day moving average is $76.49. The company has a market cap of $46.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.51 and a 12 month high of $84.15.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. Equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.88.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.