Kensington Investment Counsel LLC Has $372,000 Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Jul 30th, 2026

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lowered its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ – Free Report) by 69.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,032 shares during the period. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,916,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,819,727,000 after purchasing an additional 268,481 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,627,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,683,485,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258,964 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,878,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,930,808,000 after buying an additional 259,408 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,851,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,243,807,000 after buying an additional 378,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 62.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $900,061,000 after buying an additional 3,567,843 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NDAQ shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $109.73.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Nasdaq

Key Stories Impacting Nasdaq

Here are the key news stories impacting Nasdaq this week:

Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Nasdaq to “Strong Buy” from “Hold,” adding a favorable near-term catalyst and signaling improved expectations for the financial technology and exchange operator. Zacks.com
Positive Sentiment: Nasdaq’s latest results showed strong operating momentum: quarterly earnings per share reached $1.07, exceeding the $0.98 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 14.9% year over year to $2.53 billion. Analysts expect approximately $4.13 in full-year EPS.
Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive. Nasdaq has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $109.73, implying additional upside from recent trading levels; TD Cowen and Raymond James recently raised their targets to $105 and $113, respectively.
Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, equivalent to $1.24 annually and a yield of roughly 1.3%. A broader rally in financial stocks and fintech-related companies, including a record high for the XLF financial-sector ETF, may also be supporting the sector backdrop. Financial Sector ETF Hits Record High on Fintech Gains
Neutral Sentiment: Institutional investors own approximately 72.5% of Nasdaq’s outstanding shares, providing a substantial base of professional ownership, although recent changes in institutional positions were relatively small.
Negative Sentiment: Insiders disclosed multiple sales. President Pc Nelson Griggs sold 17,787 shares worth approximately $1.66 million across July 24 and July 27, reducing his position by roughly 7.8% overall. EVP Bradley J. Peterson also sold 13,000 shares valued at about $1.20 million, cutting his holdings by 9.2%. These transactions can create short-term selling pressure, although both executives retain significant stakes. Nasdaq Insider Selling Report

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $95.55 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.55 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The company has a market cap of $53.41 billion, a PE ratio of 27.86, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50-day moving average is $87.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.34.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. Nasdaq’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 36.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 11,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $1,034,499.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 216,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,296,393.56. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $1,203,930.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 128,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,881,214.73. This trade represents a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 30,787 shares of company stock valued at $2,865,505 in the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Nasdaq

(Free Report)

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.