Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ opened at $76.98 on Thursday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.90 and a twelve month high of $83.77. The firm has a market cap of $44.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.10, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.12.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 13.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.49%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.71, for a total value of $454,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 215,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,320,274.73. The trade was a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,642 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.32, for a total value of $1,027,515.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 142,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,757,955.60. The trade was a 8.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,459 shares of company stock valued at $3,811,808. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NDAQ shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America cut their target price on Nasdaq from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Raymond James lifted their target price on Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Argus raised their price objective on Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Nasdaq from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.73.

About Nasdaq

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.