Virtu Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 2,866 Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 164.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 5,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $444,086.28. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 205,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,918,196.14. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.32, for a total transaction of $1,027,515.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 142,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,757,955.60. This trade represents a 8.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,459 shares of company stock valued at $3,811,808. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $77.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $44.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $78.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.61. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.90 and a 1-year high of $83.77.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 57.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Nasdaq from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.53.

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.