Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $101.31 and last traded at $101.4890, with a volume of 671670 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $100.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays set a $115.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.67.

Nasdaq Trading Up 1.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $58.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.91.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 19.90%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.57%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.40, for a total transaction of $179,767.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 84,974 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,779.60. The trade was a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 306,605 shares of company stock valued at $29,546,812 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,274,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,438,897,000 after purchasing an additional 6,840,735 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the second quarter valued at approximately $406,823,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,275,902,000 after acquiring an additional 3,848,406 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 261.7% during the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,690,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,556,000 after buying an additional 1,946,479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4,365.0% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,641,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604,368 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

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.