Sierra Ocean LLC Makes New Investment in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $126,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Nasdaq by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4.2% during the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,778.56. This represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James upped 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $80.91 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $79.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.01. The company has a market cap of $46.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.90 and a 12 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 return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. On average, equities analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.