Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Price Target Raised to $104.00 at TD Cowen

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) had its price target increased by TD Cowen from $96.00 to $104.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

NDAQ has been the subject of several other research reports. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Nasdaq from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.53.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $100.07 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.86. The company has a market cap of $57.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Nasdaq has a 12-month low of $64.84 and a 12-month high of $101.21.

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

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.40, for a total transaction of $179,767.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 84,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,779.60. The trade was a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $28,917,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $185,541,400.17. This trade represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 306,605 shares of company stock worth $29,546,812. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 72.7% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

About Nasdaq

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.