World Investment Advisors Boosts Stock Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 231.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,685 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Nasdaq were worth $2,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $318,000. Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new position in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $964,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 68.8% during the 4th quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 94,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,321,000 after purchasing an additional 38,553 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 808.6% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 47,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,700,000 after purchasing an additional 42,597 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,018,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $849,783,000 after buying an additional 257,465 shares in 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of Nasdaq 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $68.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.10 and a fifty-two week high of $84.15. The firm has a market cap of $39.25 billion, a PE ratio of 35.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.62.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly 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 predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NDAQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.94.

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.