EP Wealth Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 5,573 Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Nasdaq by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,652,000 after acquiring an additional 10,110 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in Nasdaq by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 2,584 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Nasdaq by 345.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the period. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its stake in Nasdaq by 4.4% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 11,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Trading Down 0.1%

NDAQ stock opened at $98.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.96. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $76.55 and a one year high of $101.79. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $90.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.09. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 36.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $110.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Ab Investor acquired 56,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 58,439,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,024,603,103.84. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $1,203,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 128,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,881,214.73. This represents a 9.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 41,797 shares of company stock valued at $3,926,319 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq 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.