Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $84.15 and last traded at $83.68, with a volume of 262137 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NDAQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.18. The firm has a market cap of $48.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.73, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.99.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.00%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 35.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 21,000 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 75.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 53,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,170,000 after buying an additional 23,244 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth $856,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 49.8% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 164,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,987,000 after acquiring an additional 54,594 shares during the period. Finally, Cumberland Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at $10,400,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.