Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Given New $74.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) had its target price lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Nasdaq from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Edward Jones initiated coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set a buy rating on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $73.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Nasdaq from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Nasdaq from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $73.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $66.92.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NDAQ opened at $60.12 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.93 and a 200-day moving average of $56.55. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $34.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.93. Nasdaq has a twelve month low of $46.88 and a twelve month high of $64.25.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 74.9% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.