Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 23,320 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,934,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,320 shares during the quarter. Nasdaq comprises 1.5% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Nasdaq worth $149,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 42,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after buying an additional 4,651 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 20,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,524,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in Nasdaq by 23.5% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 31,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after buying an additional 6,035 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 28,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,070,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Trading Down 2.0 %

NDAQ opened at $74.66 on Monday. The stock has a market cap 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.96 and a twelve month high of $84.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $79.78 and a 200-day moving average of $77.27.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.