Franklin Resources Inc. Has $802.40 Million Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,379,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,225,672 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $802,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,576,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,064,682,000 after purchasing an additional 376,893 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 163.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,833,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,835,235,000 after acquiring an additional 24,084,154 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 11.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,951,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,310,653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811,616 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,761,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $783,181,000 after purchasing an additional 932,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harris Associates L P grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,596,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $627,596,000 after buying an additional 1,096,090 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.9 %

NDAQ stock opened at $74.91 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $79.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.63. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.10 and a fifty-two week high of $84.15.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NDAQ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.88.

Nasdaq 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.