Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $82.40.

NDAQ has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $78.22 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $79.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $44.96 billion, a PE ratio of 46.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.98. Nasdaq has a 1 year low of $54.90 and a 1 year high of $83.77.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 13.67%. The business’s revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 5,742 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $444,086.28. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 205,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,918,196.14. The trade was a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.32, for a total transaction of $1,027,515.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 142,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,757,955.60. The trade was a 8.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,459 shares of company stock valued at $3,811,808 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 163.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,833,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,835,235,000 after acquiring an additional 24,084,154 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 13,532.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,040,000 after buying an additional 3,970,658 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 11.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,951,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,310,653,000 after buying an additional 1,811,616 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 14.6% in the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,596,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $627,596,000 after buying an additional 1,096,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 9.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,761,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $783,181,000 after acquiring an additional 932,665 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

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.