Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 52,665 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 820,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 52,665 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.14% of Nasdaq worth $63,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Founders Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 106.6% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nasdaq Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $76.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.89, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.38. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.10 and a 12 month high of $84.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (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, analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NDAQ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James increased their price target on Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. This trade represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This represents a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.