Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Sells 1,279 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lowered its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 32.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,696 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,279 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 108,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,394,000 after purchasing an additional 3,869 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 45.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 355,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,468,000 after purchasing an additional 111,581 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $2,082,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,730,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $213,060,000 after buying an additional 782,812 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on NDAQ shares. StockNews.com raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.5 %

NDAQ stock opened at $73.26 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $79.30 and its 200 day moving average is $77.25. The firm has a market cap of $42.14 billion, a PE ratio of 38.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $57.96 and a one year high of $84.15. 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 (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 return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. On average, research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Company 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.