Oakmont Investment Advisors Inc. Makes New $1.55 Million Investment in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Oakmont Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 19,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,547,000. Nasdaq comprises about 1.1% of Oakmont Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NDAQ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $111.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $110.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $1,203,930.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 128,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,881,214.73. This trade represents a 9.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nelson Griggs sold 11,010 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.35, for a total transaction of $1,060,813.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 205,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,751,846.35. This represents a 5.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,797 shares of company stock worth $3,926,319. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ opened at $96.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $92.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $54.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.97. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.55 and a 1 year high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 18.38% and a net margin of 22.60%.The company’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

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

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.