CENTRAL TRUST Co Sells 139 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

CENTRAL TRUST Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 139 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 11,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 11,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $854,000 after buying an additional 1,203 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,041,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $734,000. Finally, Invesco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $208,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $81.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $79.54 and a 200-day moving average of $75.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $46.97 billion, a PE ratio of 42.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.99. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.90 and a 52-week high of $83.77.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total value of $950,906.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,072,268.75. This trade represents a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This represents a 5.92 % 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on NDAQ shares. Argus upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.88.

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.