Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Sets New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $82.44 and last traded at $82.44, with a volume of 901455 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $81.52.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 57.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on NDAQ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Nasdaq from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.87.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.5 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $47.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.95.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 13.67%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. Nasdaq’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 5,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $444,086.28. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 205,821 shares in the company, valued at $15,918,196.14. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total transaction of $950,906.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,072,268.75. This trade represents a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,459 shares of company stock worth $3,811,808 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 3.6% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 13,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,011,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4.2% during the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 0.5% during the third quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 28,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 2.5% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.