Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

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Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Market Information

Our common stock has been listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market since February 10, 2005, under the ticker symbol “NDAQ.”

The following chart lists the quarterly high and low sales prices for shares of our common stock for fiscal years 2017 and 2016. These prices are between dealers and do not include retail markups, markdowns or other fees and commissions and may not represent actual transactions.



	High		Low
Fiscal 2017
Fourth quarter	$	78.88	$	71.62
Third quarter	77.25		70.36
Second quarter	70.92		65.72
First quarter	70.76		65.37
Fiscal 2016
Fourth quarter	$	68.94	$	63.23
Third quarter	71.01		63.99
Second quarter	65.16		60.84
First quarter	66.09		54.73

As of February 21, 2018, we had approximately 276 holders of record of our common stock. As of February 21, 2018, the closing price of our common stock was $79.12.

Cash Dividends on Common Stock

The following table shows quarterly cash dividends declared per common share on our outstanding common stock:



	December 31,
	2017		2016
First quarter	$	0.32	$	0.25
Second quarter	0.38		0.32
Third quarter	0.38		0.32
Fourth quarter	0.38		0.32
Total	$	1.46	$	1.21

See “Cash Dividends on Common Stock,” of Note 14, “Nasdaq Stockholders’ Equity,” to the consolidated financial statements for further discussion of the dividends.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Share Repurchase Program

See “Share Repurchase Program,” of Note 14, “Nasdaq Stockholders’ Equity,” to the consolidated financial statements for further discussion of our share repurchase program.

Employee Transactions

During the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2017, we purchased shares from employees in connection with the settlement of employee tax withholding obligations arising from the vesting of restricted stock and PSUs.

The table below represents repurchases made by or on behalf of us or any “affiliated purchaser” of our common stock during the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2017:



Period	(a) Total Number of Shares Purchased	(b) Average Price Paid Per Share		(c) Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs	(d) Maximum Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs (in millions)
October 2017
Share repurchase program	377,516	$	74.14	377,516	$	227
Employee transactions	1,850	$	74.94	N/A	N/A

November 2017
Share repurchase program	9,732	$	74.63	9,732	$	226
Employee transactions	304	$	72.40	N/A	N/A

December 2017
Share repurchase program	1,100	$	74.97	1,100	$	226
Employee transactions	70,763	$	78.69	N/A	N/A

Total Quarter Ended December 31, 2017
Share repurchase program	388,348	$	74.15	388,348	$	226
Employee transactions	72,917	$	78.57	N/A	N/A

PERFORMANCE GRAPH

The following graph compares the total return of our common stock to the Nasdaq Composite Stock Index, the S&P 500 and a selected peer group for the past five years. The peer group includes ASX Limited, CBOE, CME Group Inc., Deutsche Börse A.G., ICE, LSE, and TMX Group Limited. Information for the indices and the peer group is provided from December 31, 2012 through December 31, 2017. The figures represented below assume an initial investment of $100 in the common stock or index at the closing price on December 31, 2012 and the reinvestment of all dividends.

COMPARISON OF 5 YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN*

*$100 invested on 12/31/12 in stock or index, including reinvestment of dividends.

Fiscal year ending December 31.



	2012		2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
Nasdaq, Inc.	$	100.00	$	161.79	$	197.73	$	244.01	$	286.68	$	334.72
Nasdaq Composite	100.00		141.63		162.09		173.33		187.19		242.29
S&P 500	100.00		132.39		150.51		152.59		170.84		208.14
Peer Group	100.00		153.73		164.34		185.98		212.88		287.34

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