Ridgewood Investments LLC Trims Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Ridgewood Investments LLC trimmed its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 34.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,266 shares during the quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in Nasdaq by 94.8% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the third quarter worth $33,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the third quarter worth $42,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NDAQ traded down $2.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.95. 966,109 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,625,504. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.90 and a 12-month high of $83.77. The company has a market cap of $43.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $79.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.60.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 13.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Nasdaq from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. William Blair assumed coverage on Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Nasdaq from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.71, for a total transaction of $454,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 215,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,320,274.73. This trade represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total value of $950,906.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,072,268.75. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,459 shares of company stock valued at $3,811,808 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.