Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) CEO Adena Friedman Sells 300,000 Shares

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) CEO Adena Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total transaction of $29,073,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $186,542,349.73. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Nasdaq Trading Down 9.4%

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $87.71 on Wednesday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.84 and a 52 week high of $101.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $95.88 and its 200-day moving average is $92.70. The firm has a market cap of $50.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. Nasdaq’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Front Row Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.