LPL Financial LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 441,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,968 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $34,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Founders Capital Management purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 106.6% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $74.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.10 and a 52-week high of $84.15. The company has a market capitalization of $43.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.12 and a 200 day moving average of $77.59.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. 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, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

About Nasdaq

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.