Wealthfront Advisers LLC Acquires 10,314 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 36.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 38,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,314 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $3,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,652,000 after purchasing an additional 10,110 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 22.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 345.5% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 106.2% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 30,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,699,000 after buying an additional 15,545 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Nasdaq news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $28,917,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $185,541,400.17. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 604,500 shares of company stock valued at $58,440,045 over the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NDAQ. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.13.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.6%

Nasdaq stock opened at $79.47 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.86 and a 200-day moving average of $92.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.84 and a twelve month high of $101.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.38 billion, a PE ratio of 25.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 34.95%.

Nasdaq Profile

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.