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

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.88.

Several research firms recently issued reports on NDAQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Nasdaq from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $74.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Nasdaq from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, April 10th.

Nasdaq Trading Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $70.66 on Tuesday. Nasdaq has a 12 month low of $58.10 and a 12 month high of $84.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.80, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $75.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total value of $47,179.17. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,450,783.80. This represents a 1.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at $4,398,253.92. The trade was a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,116 shares of company stock valued at $1,434,818. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 194.6% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Nasdaq by 1,509.5% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.