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

Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $103.1333.

Several research firms recently commented on NDAQ. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Argus raised shares of Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Nasdaq from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $28,917,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $185,541,400.17. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 604,500 shares of company stock valued at $58,440,045. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,569,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth about $223,000. AlTi Global Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth about $322,000. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 111,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,842,000 after buying an additional 44,019 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $79.47 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Nasdaq has a twelve month low of $64.84 and a twelve month high of $101.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.72, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.77%.The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 34.95%.

About Nasdaq

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.