Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has increased its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. by 3.7%, owning a total of 228,675 shares valued at approximately $17.3 million as of the end of the last quarter.
• A significant number of institutional investors have also made moves, with an overall 72.47% of the stock owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Nasdaq reported better-than-expected earnings with an EPS of $0.85, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.78, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 228,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,248 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $17,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Nasdaq by 194.6% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the first quarter worth $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Nasdaq by 1,509.5% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 338 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total transaction of $201,006.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 92,551 shares in the company, valued at $8,837,694.99. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total transaction of $1,022,715.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 111,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,867,680.45. This represents a 9.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,409 shares of company stock valued at $2,887,839 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NDAQ shares. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $101.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $96.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $95.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.06.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $94.68 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.84 and a 12-month high of $97.63. The stock has a market cap of $54.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.42, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $90.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.07. Nasdaq had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. Nasdaq's revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be given 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 currently 41.54%.

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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