Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Reduces Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,115 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $7,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 90,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,021,000 after buying an additional 7,876 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 210.5% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 23,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,869,000 after buying an additional 16,153 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 109,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,469,000 after buying an additional 2,588 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. This trade represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,532,778.56. This represents 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.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $76.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.23 billion, a PE ratio of 40.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.10 and a twelve month high of $84.15.

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

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on NDAQ. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. 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. William Blair began coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.88.

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.