Adena Friedman Sells 92,840 Shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) CEO Adena Friedman sold 92,840 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.08, for a total value of $8,363,027.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,079,323 shares in the company, valued at $187,305,415.84. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Nasdaq Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ traded down $0.45 on Tuesday, reaching $87.60. The company had a trading volume of 3,833,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,897,976. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.80 billion, a PE ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.84 and a 52-week high of $101.79. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.94.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.77%.The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Nasdaq by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Orgel Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on NDAQ. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.80.

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.