Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) CEO Adena Friedman Sells 300,000 Shares of Stock

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) CEO Adena Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $28,917,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $185,541,400.17. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $100.69 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $91.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.40. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.84 and a 52 week high of $100.85. The company has a market capitalization of $57.49 billion, a PE ratio of 35.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 38.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NDAQ shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $114.00 target price (up from $109.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up from $99.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, October 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $111.00 target price (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.40.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Front Row Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the second quarter worth $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 72.7% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.