Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Raises Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 168,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,504 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $13,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 106.6% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NDAQ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $75.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $79.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.44. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.10 and a 52-week high of $84.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. This trade represents a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $285,460.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.