Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $139.50 Million Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 15.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,577,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 291,008 shares during the period. Nasdaq accounts for approximately 1.2% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $139,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 3.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,652,000 after acquiring an additional 10,110 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Nasdaq by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 2,584 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 345.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Nasdaq by 35.9% during the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 64,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,737,000 after purchasing an additional 16,950 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $99.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, October 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, January 12th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.13.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ opened at $86.30 on Tuesday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $64.84 and a one year high of $101.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.58 and a 200 day moving average of $92.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.95%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total value of $29,073,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at $186,542,349.73. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at $12,568,656.74. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 604,500 shares of company stock worth $58,440,045 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.