IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Reduces Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd decreased its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 31.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,898 shares during the quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $325,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 163.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,833,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,835,235,000 after purchasing an additional 24,084,154 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 11.2% in 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 buying an additional 1,811,616 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $110,867,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at $105,481,000. Finally, Harris Associates L P lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 14.6% during the third 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $74.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50 day moving average of $79.12 and a 200 day moving average of $77.55. 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 $58.10 and a 1-year high of $84.15.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.