Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 8,112 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 78,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,112 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $7,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased 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 valued at $2,652,000 after acquiring an additional 10,110 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 22.0% during 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. grew its position in Nasdaq by 345.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 4.4% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 11,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total value of $117,508.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,104.98. This trade represents a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total value of $700,222.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 141,035 shares in the company, valued at $12,808,798.70. This represents a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 231,002 shares of company stock worth $20,295,941 in the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nasdaq Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $88.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average of $86.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.98. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.09 and a 52 week high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The business’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This is an increase from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 32.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NDAQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.15.

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.