Cetera Investment Advisers Grows Stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. by 32.2%, acquiring an additional 8,770 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 35,991 shares valued at approximately $2.73 million.
• Nasdaq's latest earnings report showed EPS of $0.85, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.78, with revenues of $1.31 billion, indicating a 12.7% year-over-year growth.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, representing a 1.1% annual yield and a payout ratio of 41.54%.

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 32.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,770 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Nasdaq were worth $2,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,005,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $464,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,201 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,902,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $301,680,000 after buying an additional 1,120,538 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 7,367.6% in the first 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 last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 5.1% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,433,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,550,115,000 after purchasing an additional 993,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 8,704.0% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 825,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,850,000 after purchasing an additional 816,519 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock traded up $0.40 on Friday, hitting $96.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,570,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,597,520. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.84 and a fifty-two week high of $97.47. The stock's 50 day moving average is $89.67 and its 200-day moving average is $81.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $55.57 billion, a PE ratio of 37.25, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.1%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.45, for a total transaction of $812,173.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,879 shares in the company, valued at $829,742.55. The trade was a 49.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total value of $201,006.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 92,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,837,694.99. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,409 shares of company stock valued at $2,887,839 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $101.00 price objective (up previously from $96.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $96.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.06.

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.