Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Stock Position Raised by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its Nasdaq stake by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, adding 43,261 shares to bring its total to 307,185 shares worth about $29.8 million.
• Nasdaq beat Q1 earnings expectations, reporting $0.96 EPS versus the $0.93 estimate and revenue of $2.14 billion, which was well above forecasts and up 13.7% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share from $0.27, while analysts remain generally positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a target price of $107.15.

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 16.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 307,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 43,261 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Nasdaq worth $29,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Nasdaq by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on NDAQ. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 target price on Nasdaq and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.15.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $91.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.47 billion, a PE ratio of 27.41, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.98. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.09 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $87.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.86.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The business's revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nasdaq news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 113,611 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total value of $9,706,923.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,965,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $167,953,765.44. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total value of $117,508.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $896,104.98. This trade represents a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 231,002 shares of company stock worth $20,295,941. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world's leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.

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