Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stock holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. by 30.2% in Q2, acquiring an additional 11,453 shares, bringing its total to 49,317 shares valued at $4.44 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and Invesco Ltd., significantly boosted their stakes in Nasdaq during the first quarter, indicating strong interest among major investors.
• Nasdaq reported a revenue increase of 12.7% year-over-year and an EPS of $0.85 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 30.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,317 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,453 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $4,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the first quarter valued at $241,614,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Nasdaq by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,494,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $416,795,000 after buying an additional 1,592,057 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,114,205 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 5.1% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 993,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 104.5% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,655,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $125,574,000 after acquiring an additional 845,725 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group raised Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $96.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.06.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 111,035 shares in the company, valued at $9,867,680.45. This trade represents a 9.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at $829,742.55. This represents a 49.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,409 shares of company stock valued at $2,223,599 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $86.73 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $93.66 and its 200 day moving average is $84.86. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.84 and a fifty-two week high of $97.63. 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 $49.76 billion, a PE ratio of 33.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.54%.

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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