Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Acquires 1,544 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,544 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $5,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Nasdaq by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,979,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,019,037,000 after purchasing an additional 403,248 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,433,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,550,115,000 after purchasing an additional 993,553 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 1.2% during the first quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,693,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $659,487,000 after purchasing an additional 101,983 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 9.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,785,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $438,854,000 after buying an additional 484,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 40.8% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,494,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $416,795,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,057 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $108.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price (up previously from $99.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.50.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $88.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $91.92 and a 200-day moving average of $86.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.83 billion, a PE ratio of 34.07, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.98. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.84 and a 12 month high of $97.63.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.26 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 18.59%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

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

Nasdaq Company 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.