Assetmark Inc. Purchases 10,984 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. by 11.6% in Q1, owning 105,831 shares valued at approximately $8.03 million.
• Several other institutional investors also expanded their positions in Nasdaq, contributing to a total of 72.47% of the stock being held by institutional investors.
• Nasdaq reported earnings of $0.85 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a 12.7% year-over-year revenue growth.

Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 11.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,984 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $8,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 32.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 35,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,730,000 after buying an additional 8,770 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 5.1% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 115,145 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,735,000 after buying an additional 5,599 shares during the period. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the first quarter valued at $273,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 14.6% in the first quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 4,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the period. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 15.1% in the first quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 606,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,965,000 after buying an additional 79,540 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ traded up $0.97 during trading on Thursday, hitting $96.96. The stock had a trading volume of 1,035,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,340,280. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.33 and a 12 month high of $97.05. The company has a market capitalization of $55.64 billion, a PE ratio of 37.30, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's fifty day moving average is $87.72 and its 200 day moving average is $80.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.07. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 18.59%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is 41.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NDAQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group upgraded Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $96.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $95.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.17, for a total value of $187,702.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 94,656 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,475.52. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 111,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,867,680.45. This trade represents a 9.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,304 shares of company stock valued at $2,686,833. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.