2,685 Shares in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Acquired by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 2,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in 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 period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,951,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,310,653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,811,616 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,761,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $783,181,000 after acquiring an additional 932,665 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,596,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $627,596,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 13,532.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $292,040,000 after acquiring an additional 3,970,658 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on NDAQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $80.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $79.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $45.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $79.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.51 and a 1-year 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 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.