Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Grows Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 13.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,547 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $1,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 72.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 194.6% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 1,509.5% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $87.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.70, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.98. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.84 and a 12 month high of $97.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $93.31 and its 200 day moving average is $85.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. Research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on NDAQ. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total transaction of $201,006.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,837,694.99. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.45, for a total transaction of $812,173.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,879 shares in the company, valued at $829,742.55. This represents a 49.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.