Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $66.92.

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Nasdaq from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Nasdaq from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Edward Jones began coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $61.60 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.42, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $60.45 and a 200-day moving average of $56.98. Nasdaq has a 52 week low of $46.88 and a 52 week high of $64.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 46.32%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,036 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.89, for a total value of $181,826.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,511,710.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total transaction of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,341,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,383,809,610. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.89, for a total value of $181,826.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,511,710.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,010,436 shares of company stock worth $1,798,647,360 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in Nasdaq by 89.3% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Nasdaq by 74.9% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.