Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ Shares Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 65.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,422 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,274,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,438,897,000 after purchasing an additional 6,840,735 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the second quarter worth about $406,823,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 5.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,800,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,989,636,000 after acquiring an additional 2,820,339 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 261.7% during the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,690,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $240,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,946,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4,365.0% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,641,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604,368 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $98.45 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.84 and a 52-week high of $99.59. The company has a market capitalization of $56.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $90.99 and a 200 day moving average of $91.30.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 19.90%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $99.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $114.00 price objective (up previously from $109.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $111.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.40.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.40, for a total transaction of $179,767.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 84,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,779.60. This represents a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.70% 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.