Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 3,403 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 48.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,403 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 428,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,828,000 after purchasing an additional 140,286 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 446,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,715,000 after buying an additional 43,910 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 53,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,616,000 after buying an additional 3,455 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 365,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,250,000 after acquiring an additional 83,227 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,326,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,396,000 after acquiring an additional 40,215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $61.50 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.36. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.88 and a 12 month high of $64.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.93.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 17.48% and a return on equity of 19.28%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NDAQ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Nasdaq from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $59.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays started coverage on Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Nasdaq from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Nasdaq from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.09.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total transaction of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,341,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,383,809,610. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 7,400 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.91, for a total transaction of $465,534.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,879,785.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total transaction of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,341,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,383,809,610. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

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.