Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Invests $522,000 in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 6,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $522,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 106.6% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 94.2% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on NDAQ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Raymond James raised their target price on Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. William Blair assumed coverage on Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $72.85 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.96 and a 1 year high of $84.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.28. The company has a market cap of $41.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.94, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.