Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Trims Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. reduced its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 157,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,987 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $9,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,827,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,236,000 after purchasing an additional 60,770 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 286.9% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,061,000 after buying an additional 13,536 shares during the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at $235,000. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FourThought Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 815.6% in the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 43,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,517,000 after acquiring an additional 38,563 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total value of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,341,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,383,809,610. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total transaction of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,341,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,383,809,610. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.89, for a total value of $181,826.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,636 shares in the company, valued at $3,511,710.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,010,436 shares of company stock valued at $1,798,647,360 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Edward Jones assumed coverage on Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded Nasdaq from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.92.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:NDAQ traded down $0.99 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.91. 2,585,321 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,171,051. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.53, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.54 and a 200 day moving average of $57.05. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.88 and a 12 month high of $64.25.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.02). Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. Nasdaq’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is a positive change from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.53%.

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.