Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Trims Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,091 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $6,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 106.6% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NDAQ opened at $75.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $43.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.35, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50 day moving average is $79.17 and its 200 day moving average is $77.44. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.10 and a 12-month high of $84.15.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,532,778.56. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on NDAQ. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.88.

About Nasdaq

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.