Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $1.50 Billion Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,440,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 884,432 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 3.38% of Nasdaq worth $1,502,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 68.8% in the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 94,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,321,000 after buying an additional 38,553 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 808.6% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 47,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,700,000 after acquiring an additional 42,597 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,018,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $849,783,000 after purchasing an additional 257,465 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth approximately $293,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Nasdaq by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,379,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,672 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on NDAQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer lifted 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. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays lowered 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.88.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $76.04 on Wednesday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.10 and a 12 month high of $84.15. The company has a market cap of $43.73 billion, a PE ratio of 39.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $78.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.68.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

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.