What to Know About Nasdaq President Nelson Griggs Selling 3,226 Shares for $310,212
Key Points
The executive disposed of 3,226 shares on August 10, 2026, for a total transaction value of ~$310,212.
The sale resulted in a 2% reduction in the insider's direct equity holdings.
Following the transaction, direct ownership stands at ~202,000 shares, with no indirect holdings reported.
The insider continues to maintain a substantial equity interest through a combination of vested shares and performance-based units.
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Nelson Griggs, Pres. Capital Access Platforms at Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ), sold 3,226 shares of common stock on Aug. 10, 2026. SEC Form 4 filing
Transaction summary
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Transaction value | ~$310,212 |
| Shares sold (directly held) | 3,226 |
| Post-transaction shares (directly held) | 201,775 |
| Post-transaction value | $19.29 million |
Transaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average sale price ($96.16); post-transaction value based on Aug. 10, 2026 market close ($95.62).
Key questions
- How does this sale impact the executive's total equity exposure?
The disposal of 3,226 shares represents a 2% reduction in the insider's direct position. This transaction serves as a minor liquidity event, while the executive maintains a significant interest in the firm by retaining 201,775 shares in direct ownership. - What is the composition of the remaining equity stake?
The current direct holding includes 52,724 restricted stock units, of which 17,520 are already vested. Additionally, the executive holds 149,051 shares of common stock underlying performance-based units, providing continued exposure to future operational performance. - How does the execution price relate to recent market performance?
The sale was executed at $96.16 per share, slightly above the $95.62 market close on the transaction date. As of the Aug. 11, 2026 market close, shares were priced at $95.02, reflecting recent price stability, with the stock carrying a -1% one-year return as of the transaction date.
Company Overview
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Share Price (as of market close 2026-08-17) | $96.68 |
| Market Capitalization | $54.0 billion |
| Revenue (TTM) | $8.7 billion |
| Net Income (TTM) | $2.0 billion |
Company Snapshot
- Nasdaq, Inc. operates a diversified technology and market infrastructure platform that generates revenue through its Market Technology division, which provides financial crime prevention solutions, including Nasdaq Trade Surveillance and Nasdaq Automated Investigator, as well as through its core capital markets exchange operations.
- The company's business model is centered on providing essential technology infrastructure and compliance solutions to brokers, market participants, and financial institutions, generating recurring revenue through subscription-based SaaS offerings and transaction-based fees.
- Nasdaq serves a global customer base of brokers, market participants, financial institutions, and regulatory bodies seeking robust compliance, surveillance, and capital markets infrastructure solutions.
Nasdaq, Inc. is a technology-driven financial services enterprise with a market capitalization of $53.1 billion, leveraging its foundational position in capital markets infrastructure to expand into adjacent technology and compliance solutions. The company generates substantial revenue of $8.7 billion TTM with net income of $2.0 billion, demonstrating strong operational leverage and profitability within the financial services sector. Nasdaq's competitive advantage derives from its integrated platform, which combines exchange operations with advanced market surveillance and financial crime prevention capabilities, positioning it as a mission-critical service provider for global financial markets.
What this transaction means for investors
It looks like President Griggs' $310,212 sale is nothing more than standard insider transaction activity, especially considering that he still holds over $19 million in NDAQ stock after this sale. While Nasdaq shares have raced from $77 to nearly $100 over the last few months, I don't think investors should read into this transaction as any sort of a "top" for the stock.
In fact, Nasdaq remains one of my core holdings and favorite stocks to steadily add to over time. Most famous for today's biggest IPO's listing on its exchanges, Nasdaq is also home to its namesake indexes, troves of data, transaction capabilities, and, most recently, helping to police the financial securities, trading, and banking worlds (fintech, fraud, anti-money laundering, etc.). Now inching closer to a 23-hour trading day, Nasdaq continues to offer many avenues for sales growth, as seen in its 15% growth rate last quarter.
Trading at 28 times free cash flow and home to a 1.1% dividend yield that his seen its payments increased for 13 straight years, Nasdaq remains one of my favorite dividend growth stocks out there, especially as it looks well positioned to benefit from AI being incorporated into the world.
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Josh Kohn-Lindquist has positions in Nasdaq. The Motley Fool recommends Nasdaq. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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