Virtu Financial LLC Invests $209,000 in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 94.8% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its stake in Nasdaq by 164.4% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the second quarter worth about $34,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $77.47 on Thursday. 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 50-day moving average price of $78.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.61. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.90 and a 12-month high of $83.77. The stock has a market cap of $44.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.39, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.97.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly 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. Nasdaq had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,642 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 6,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.71, for a total value of $454,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 215,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,320,274.73. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,459 shares of company stock valued at $3,811,808 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.