Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $97.67 and last traded at $97.5540, with a volume of 915552 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NDAQ has been the topic of several research reports. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up previously from $99.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, October 13th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.40.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $89.31 and a 200-day moving average of $90.55. The company has a market cap of $56.31 billion, a PE ratio of 35.22, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 19.90%.The business’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.57%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.40, for a total transaction of $179,767.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 84,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,256,779.60. This trade represents a 2.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Nasdaq by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 594,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,073,000 after purchasing an additional 5,114 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Nasdaq by 9.4% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 64,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,856,000 after buying an additional 5,507 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Nasdaq by 24.9% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the first quarter worth about $664,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.