Wealthfront Advisers LLC Grows Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 20.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,873 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $4,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in Nasdaq by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 200,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,506,000 after buying an additional 6,316 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Nasdaq by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 61,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,933,000 after buying an additional 13,160 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its stake in Nasdaq by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 171,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,640,000 after buying an additional 7,455 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at $358,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in Nasdaq by 152.0% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,307,000 after buying an additional 14,330 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 113,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total transaction of $9,706,923.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,965,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,953,765.44. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total value of $1,408,258.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 215,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,530,126. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 531,002 shares of company stock worth $49,368,941 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.7%

Nasdaq stock opened at $91.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $51.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.00. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $75.54 and a one year high of $101.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $86.49 and a 200 day moving average of $89.65.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.Nasdaq’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Argus upgraded Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.15.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.