Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $110.30.

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, July 24th.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Ab Investor purchased 56,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the purchase, the insider owned 58,439,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,024,603,103.84. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $1,203,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 128,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,881,214.73. This represents a 9.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 41,797 shares of company stock worth $3,926,319 over the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $99.35 on Friday. Nasdaq has a one year low of $76.55 and a one year high of $101.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $55.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.33.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.60% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.15%.

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.