LPL Financial LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Nasdaq, Inc. by 5.5%, owning approximately 0.08% of the company, valued at $35.3 million.
• Nasdaq, Inc. reported earnings per share of $0.85 for the quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.07, with revenues increasing 12.7% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.1%, reflecting a strong commitment to returning capital to shareholders.

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 465,607 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,336 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Nasdaq worth $35,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Nasdaq by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,005,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $464,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,201 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Nasdaq by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,902,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $301,680,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120,538 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Nasdaq by 7,367.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,129,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $85,671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,205 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Nasdaq by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,433,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,550,115,000 after acquiring an additional 993,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 8,704.0% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 825,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,850,000 after buying an additional 816,519 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $95.17 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.33 and a 52-week high of $97.07. The business's 50 day moving average is $88.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $54.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.60, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.00.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 18.59%. The company's revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Nasdaq's payout ratio is presently 41.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Nasdaq news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.45, for a total value of $812,173.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,879 shares in the company, valued at $829,742.55. This represents a 49.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.17, for a total transaction of $187,702.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 94,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,440,475.52. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,304 shares of company stock worth $2,686,833. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on NDAQ. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.63.

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.

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