Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $103.80.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Argus raised shares of Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 92,840 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.08, for a total value of $8,363,027.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,079,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $187,305,415.84. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at $12,568,656.74. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 697,340 shares of company stock valued at $66,803,072 in the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 2.3% in the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in Nasdaq by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Nasdaq by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in Nasdaq by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orgel Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Nasdaq by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $87.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $49.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $91.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.89. Nasdaq has a twelve month low of $64.84 and a twelve month high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.77%.Nasdaq’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Nasdaq will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.95%.

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.