United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 166,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,132,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the second quarter worth $2,931,637,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Nasdaq by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,878,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,930,808,000 after purchasing an additional 259,408 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Nasdaq by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,851,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,243,807,000 after purchasing an additional 378,577 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Nasdaq by 62.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $900,061,000 after buying an additional 3,567,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harris Associates L P grew its stake in Nasdaq by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,621,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $837,425,000 after buying an additional 2,716,280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $99.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $55.53 billion, a PE ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.97. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.55 and a 12-month high of $101.79. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $90.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.33.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors 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 1.2%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.15%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NDAQ shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $113.00 price target (up from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $111.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.30.

About Nasdaq

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.