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

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $66.92.

A number of brokerages have commented on NDAQ. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on Nasdaq from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. StockNews.com cut Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays lowered their price objective on Nasdaq from $76.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total transaction of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,341,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,383,809,610. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Nasdaq news, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total value of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,341,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,383,809,610. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 7,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.91, for a total value of $465,534.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,672 shares in the company, valued at $3,879,785.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 89.3% during 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 purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 74.9% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $60.08 on Tuesday. Nasdaq has a twelve month low of $46.88 and a twelve month high of $64.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $34.56 billion, a PE ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.93.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. Nasdaq’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 company earned $0.69 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Nasdaq will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.32%.

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.