Candriam S.C.A. Has $4.58 Million Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,738 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $4,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NDAQ. Raymond James raised their price objective on Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. William Blair initiated coverage on Nasdaq in a report on Monday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.88.

Nasdaq Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $74.66 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.22. 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 company has a market capitalization of $42.94 billion, a PE ratio of 38.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.96 and a 12-month high of $84.15.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Nasdaq

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.