Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $85.73.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $81.73 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.98 billion, a PE ratio of 48.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Nasdaq has a 52-week low of $54.90 and a 52-week high of $83.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.51.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 13.67%. On average, research analysts predict that Nasdaq will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 5,742 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $444,086.28. Following the sale, the insider now owns 205,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,918,196.14. This trade represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total transaction of $950,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 102,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,072,268.75. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,817 shares of company stock valued at $2,330,033 in the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 80,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,185,000 after buying an additional 21,000 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth approximately $856,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 49.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 164,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,987,000 after acquiring an additional 54,594 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter worth $10,400,000. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,701,000. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

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.