Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Upgraded by TD Cowen to Buy Rating

TD Cowen upgraded shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $106.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $105.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on NDAQ. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on Nasdaq and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, January 12th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.80.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NDAQ opened at $88.59 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.33. Nasdaq has a 1-year low of $64.84 and a 1-year high of $101.79. The company has a market cap of $50.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 34.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total transaction of $29,073,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $186,542,349.73. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,568,656.74. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 604,500 shares of company stock worth $58,440,045 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,511,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 41.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 77,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,819,000 after purchasing an additional 22,685 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 9.9% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 800,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,594,000 after purchasing an additional 72,032 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,561,000 after buying an additional 19,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,275,902,000 after buying an additional 3,848,406 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.