Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 11,375 Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 11,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $863,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 194.6% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 1,509.5% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the first quarter worth about $26,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the first quarter worth about $34,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $101.00 target price (up from $96.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 25th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.06.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $94.88 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.02. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.84 and a 52-week high of $97.63.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 41.54%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total transaction of $1,022,715.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 111,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,867,680.45. This trade represents a 9.39% 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, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.45, for a total transaction of $812,173.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $829,742.55. The trade was a 49.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,409 shares of company stock valued at $2,223,599 over the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.