Merit Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. The trade was a 20.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total transaction of $47,179.17. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,450,783.80. The trade was a 1.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,616 shares of company stock valued at $1,813,598 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ NDAQ traded down $1.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $85.59. The stock had a trading volume of 3,149,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,976,746. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.28 and a 1 year high of $87.50. The stock has a market cap of $49.14 billion, a PE ratio of 44.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $78.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Nasdaq's payout ratio is presently 49.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on NDAQ shares. UBS Group reissued a "cautious" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.50.

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.