196,192 Shares in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Purchased by Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.

Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 196,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,353,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Nasdaq by 3.8% during 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 raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 40.7% in 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 raised its stake in Nasdaq by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 2,584 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 345.5% in the 1st 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 during the period. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC lifted its position in Nasdaq by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on NDAQ shares. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 target price on Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total transaction of $29,073,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,542,349.73. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 604,500 shares of company stock worth $58,440,045. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $88.43 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.84 and a fifty-two week high of $101.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $91.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.03. The company has a market cap of $50.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 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.