Ascent Group LLC Purchases New Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC has acquired a new stake in Nasdaq, Inc., purchasing 36,563 shares valued at approximately $2,774,000 during the first quarter.
• Nasdaq reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with an EPS of $0.85, surpassing analyst estimates of $0.78, and a revenue of $1.31 billion.
• Analyst ratings for Nasdaq are generally positive, with fourteen analysts rating it as a "Buy" and an average target price of $97.06.

Ascent Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 36,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,774,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vestcor Inc lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 8,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 0.5% in the first quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 30,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,282,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,303 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,260,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 7.1% in the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,829 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 194.6% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Nasdaq stock traded down $1.93 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $93.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,947,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,461,785. 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 company has a market capitalization of $53.91 billion, a PE ratio of 36.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.02. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.84 and a 12 month high of $97.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $93.60 and a 200 day moving average of $84.21.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 18.59%.Nasdaq's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $101.00 target price (up previously from $96.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Nasdaq from $95.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $96.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.45, for a total transaction of $812,173.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $829,742.55. This trade represents a 49.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total value 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. The trade was a 9.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,409 shares of company stock worth $2,223,599. 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.