Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 89,997 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors increased its Nasdaq stake by 2,057.1% in the third quarter, purchasing 89,997 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 94,372 shares valued at approximately $8.68 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of Nasdaq, while insiders own 0.60%; company executives sold a combined 45,172 shares worth about $4.25 million over the past quarter.
• Nasdaq shares recently traded at $93.40, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $108.83. The company’s latest quarter beat earnings expectations, with revenue up 14.9% year over year.

Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 2,057.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 94,372 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 89,997 shares during the quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $8,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Curated Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth $349,000. Orgel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth about $230,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,326 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,442 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,168,000. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 11.7% in the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 3,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 1,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.13, for a total transaction of $105,896.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 97,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,195,183.18. This trade represents a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $1,203,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 128,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,881,214.73. This trade represents a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,172 shares of company stock worth $4,245,088. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Nasdaq this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nasdaq completed its acquisition of LeveL Markets, one of the largest U.S. alternative trading systems. The deal expands Nasdaq’s marketplace, improves access to liquidity and supports its strategy of enabling more continuous, global trading. Nasdaq Completes Acquisition of LeveL Markets
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are positioned ahead of next week’s quarterly report, with Zacks highlighting earnings-growth expectations and factors that could support another earnings beat. Nasdaq’s latest reported quarter showed year-over-year revenue growth and earnings above consensus. Nasdaq Earnings Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan maintained a bullish view with a Buy rating, while Deutsche Bank raised its price target to $116 and retained its Buy rating. The reported target implies meaningful upside from recent trading levels. J.P. Morgan Buy Rating Deutsche Bank Price Target Increase
• Neutral Sentiment: Nasdaq’s index business is gaining traction, with index revenue growth accelerating sharply in the second quarter. However, asset-based licensing revenue is also sensitive to market levels and investor inflows, creating a risk if markets weaken. Nasdaq Index Growth Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $100 price target, providing a more cautious counterpoint to the bullish analyst revisions. Wells Fargo Hold Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Executive Vice President Jeremy Skule sold 1,125 shares for approximately $105,900. The sale reduced his holdings by 1.14%, although he continues to own a substantial position and the transaction is relatively small compared with Nasdaq’s market value. Nasdaq Executive Share Sale

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NDAQ has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Nasdaq from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $103.00 to $111.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $108.83.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.6%

Nasdaq stock traded up $1.44 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $93.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,054,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,781,490. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.55 and a fifty-two week high of $101.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.99. The firm's fifty day moving average is $94.72 and its 200-day moving average is $90.50.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Nasdaq's revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq's payout ratio is presently 36.15%.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology, market infrastructure and exchange company headquartered in New York City. The company operates Nasdaq stock exchanges in the United States and provides trading, clearing, settlement, listing and market data services. Through its Nordic and Baltic operations, Nasdaq also serves financial markets across Northern Europe.

Nasdaq's business includes exchange and market services, index development, investment intelligence, and technology solutions for exchanges, brokers, banks, asset managers and other financial institutions.

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