NorthRock Partners LLC Buys Shares of 5,588 Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $432,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $424,285,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,005,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $464,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,201 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $110,867,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,481,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,379,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,672 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total value of $47,179.17. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,450,783.80. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $81.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $75.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.92. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.28 and a 52 week high of $84.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.00.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 49.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NDAQ shares. StockNews.com upgraded Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered Nasdaq from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $74.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Nasdaq from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.50.

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.