Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Shares Acquired by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. by 5.1%, totaling 115,145 shares valued at approximately $8.7 million.
• Several hedge funds significantly boosted their positions in Nasdaq, with Norges Bank adding a new position valued at approximately $424 million.
• Wall Street analysts have generally rated Nasdaq as a "Moderate Buy", with a consensus price target of $96.63, indicating positive growth expectations.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,145 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,599 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $8,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $424,285,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Nasdaq by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,005,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $464,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,201 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Nasdaq by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,379,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $802,401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,672 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Nasdaq by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,902,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $301,680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120,538 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Nasdaq by 7,367.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,129,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $85,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NDAQ. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $97.00 price target (up previously from $83.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.63.

Nasdaq Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $94.84 on Friday. 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 $54.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.62. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.33 and a fifty-two week high of $95.49.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 company 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%. Nasdaq's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.09%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.17, for a total transaction of $187,702.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 94,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,440,475.52. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total value of $664,240.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 211,405 shares in the company, valued at $17,552,957.15. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,613 shares of company stock valued at $1,874,659 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Profile

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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