Cynosure Group LLC Sells 1,107 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Cynosure Group LLC lessened its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,107 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,576,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,064,682,000 after purchasing an additional 376,893 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 163.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,833,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,835,235,000 after buying an additional 24,084,154 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 11.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,951,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,310,653,000 after buying an additional 1,811,616 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,018,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $849,783,000 after acquiring an additional 257,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Nasdaq by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,379,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $802,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,672 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $78.30 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.68. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.10 and a 1-year high of $84.15. 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 $45.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.78, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. This trade represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. The trade was 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NDAQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James upped their target price on Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five equities 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.94.

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.