Adena Friedman Sells 300,000 Shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) CEO Adena Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $28,917,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at $185,541,400.17. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Nasdaq Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NDAQ traded up $2.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $100.69. The company had a trading volume of 3,745,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,662,886. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $57.49 billion, a PE ratio of 35.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $64.84 and a one year high of $100.85. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $90.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.30.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 19.90%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on NDAQ. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, October 9th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Nasdaq from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $111.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $114.00 price target (up previously from $109.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, December 12th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 72.7% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.