Prudential PLC Purchases 65,085 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Prudential PLC grew its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 88.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 138,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 65,085 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $10,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 80,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,185,000 after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares during the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $274,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 75.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 53,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,170,000 after buying an additional 23,244 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 892.3% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 60,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,689,000 after acquiring an additional 54,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 44,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,454,000 after acquiring an additional 9,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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 stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of Nasdaq 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays cut their price target 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.94.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NDAQ opened at $68.25 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.53 and a 200-day moving average of $77.62. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $39.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.10 and a twelve month high of $84.15.

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 net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Nasdaq 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.