Cumberland Partners Ltd Decreases Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Cumberland Partners Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 160,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,023 shares during the period. Nasdaq makes up approximately 0.9% of Cumberland Partners Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $12,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,433,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,550,115,000 after buying an additional 993,553 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,954,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $537,640,000 after buying an additional 335,565 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,005,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $464,676,000 after buying an additional 1,650,201 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,850,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,011,000 after buying an additional 399,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,998,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,087,000 after buying an additional 235,748 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total value of $1,022,715.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 111,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,867,680.45. This trade represents a 9.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.45, for a total transaction of $812,173.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,879 shares in the company, valued at $829,742.55. The trade was a 49.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,304 shares of company stock worth $2,686,833. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $95.17 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $64.33 and a one year high of $97.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $88.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.00.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.07. Nasdaq had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. Nasdaq’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 41.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on NDAQ. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $95.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.63.

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.