Cohen Tal Sells 15,518 Shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total value of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 215,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,530,126. This represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $91.27. The stock had a trading volume of 2,482,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,161,381. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $86.09 and its 200 day moving average is $89.62. Nasdaq, Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.11 and a twelve month high of $101.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.02.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NDAQ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays raised their target price on Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.15.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.