Benjamin Edwards Inc. Buys 5,994 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 484,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,994 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned about 0.08% of Nasdaq worth $42,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 0.4% in the second quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,339,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 72.7% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 3.0% during the second quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 4,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 2.3% during the second quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on NDAQ shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $111.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $114.00 price target (up previously from $109.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.40.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ stock opened at $100.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $57.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $91.55 and its 200 day moving average is $91.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.84 and a 52 week high of $101.22.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 19.90%.Nasdaq’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. Research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 38.57%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.40, for a total transaction of $179,767.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 84,974 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,779.60. This trade represents a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $28,917,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $185,541,400.17. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Company 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.