Diversify Advisory Services LLC Makes New $906,000 Investment in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 9,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $906,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Nasdaq by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,855,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,329,000 after purchasing an additional 45,783 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 61,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,933,000 after buying an additional 13,160 shares in the last quarter. MKP Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth about $33,996,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,245,000. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,872,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $96.35 on Thursday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.55 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.96. The company has a market cap of $53.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on NDAQ. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price objective on Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $110.30.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 11,010 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were 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 directly owned 205,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,751,846.35. The trade was a 5.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Ab Investor purchased 56,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,024,603,103.84. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,797 shares of company stock worth $3,926,319. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nasdaq Company 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.