Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Nasdaq from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Raymond James raised Nasdaq from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.33.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NDAQ traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $78.69. 2,247,205 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,658,679. The company has a market capitalization of $45.23 billion, a PE ratio of 47.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.95. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $73.62 and a 200 day moving average of $66.71. Nasdaq has a 1-year low of $51.30 and a 1-year high of $79.73.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 14.56%. 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 prior year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Nasdaq’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 2.78 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.32, for a total value of $1,027,515.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 142,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,757,955.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,642 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.32, for a total value of $1,027,515.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 142,830 shares in the company, valued at $10,757,955.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 5,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 205,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,918,196.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,384 shares of company stock worth $2,860,902 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 312.0% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 183,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,601,000 after purchasing an additional 139,228 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in Nasdaq by 237.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 30,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,946,000 after acquiring an additional 21,699 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 517,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,624,000 after acquiring an additional 57,900 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,595,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 55.8% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 27,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 9,894 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently 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.