Blue Trust Inc. Purchases 1,396 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 96.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,396 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 94.8% in the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 164.4% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Seller Lp Argus sold 42,804,207 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total transaction of $2,764,295,688.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,804,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,764,295,688.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nasdaq Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $74.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $72.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.68. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.56 and a 52-week high of $75.68.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.45% and a net margin of 14.43%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 55.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NDAQ has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Nasdaq from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday. Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.47.

Nasdaq 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.