Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Price Target Raised to $84.00 at Raymond James

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) had its price target increased by Raymond James from $83.00 to $84.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on NDAQ. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Nasdaq from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America decreased their target price on Nasdaq from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.20.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $78.02 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $79.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Nasdaq has a twelve month low of $54.90 and a twelve month high of $83.77. The company has a market capitalization of $44.84 billion, a PE ratio of 46.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.98.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Nasdaq will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 57.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.71, for a total transaction of $454,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 215,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,320,274.73. This trade represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total value of $950,906.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 102,505 shares in the company, valued at $8,072,268.75. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,459 shares of company stock worth $3,811,808. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 94.8% during the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the third quarter worth about $42,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.