Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on NDAQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price objective on Nasdaq and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.13.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $79.47 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $94.86 and a 200 day moving average of $92.22. Nasdaq has a 52 week low of $64.84 and a 52 week high of $101.79. The company has a market cap of $45.38 billion, a PE ratio of 25.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 34.95%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $28,917,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $185,541,400.17. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 604,500 shares of company stock worth $58,440,045. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Nasdaq by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,652,000 after purchasing an additional 10,110 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in Nasdaq by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Nasdaq by 345.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 106.2% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 30,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,699,000 after buying an additional 15,545 shares during the period. 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.