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

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $68.25.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NDAQ. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Argus raised their price objective on Nasdaq from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Nasdaq from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Nasdaq from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $69.30 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $39.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.47, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $62.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.72. Nasdaq has a twelve month low of $46.88 and a twelve month high of $70.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 15.45%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Nasdaq’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Nasdaq will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, major shareholder Seller Lp Argus sold 42,804,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total transaction of $2,764,295,688.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,804,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,764,295,688.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smithfield Trust Co increased its position in Nasdaq by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 1.6% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 11,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $715,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Nasdaq by 5.4% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Nasdaq by 0.6% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 32,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,967,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 89.3% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.