Wealthfront Advisers LLC Purchases 13,505 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its Nasdaq stake by 29.3% in the first quarter, buying 13,505 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 59,666 shares worth about $5.1 million.
• Nasdaq’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $0.96 versus a $0.93 estimate and revenue of $2.14 billion, up 13.7% from a year earlier.
• The company boosted its dividend to $0.31 per quarter from $0.27, while analysts remain generally positive with a consensus Buy rating and average price target of $107.42.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 29.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,666 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,505 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Nasdaq were worth $5,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at about $530,100,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $900,061,000 after acquiring an additional 3,567,843 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 82.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 6,073,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $589,897,000 after purchasing an additional 2,736,322 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,621,689 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $837,425,000 after buying an additional 2,716,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 7.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,619,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,735,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404,348 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total value of $700,222.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 141,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,808,798.70. This represents a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total transaction of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 215,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,530,126. The trade was a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,551 shares of company stock worth $2,225,990. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $91.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $51.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.99. 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 quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $87.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.75.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on NDAQ. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Nasdaq from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $114.00 to $108.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.42.

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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