Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $107.4167.

NDAQ has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price target on Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Nasdaq from $104.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price objective on Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 1,323 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.82, for a total value of $117,508.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $896,104.98. The trade was a 11.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ab Investor bought 56,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,439,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,024,603,103.84. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 24,551 shares of company stock worth $2,225,990 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trust Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 4,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Whitener Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the period. Tema ETFs LLC boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 8,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 738,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,179,000 after acquiring an additional 18,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Financial Group increased its stake in Nasdaq by 32.6% in the second quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 3,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $91.36 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.76. Nasdaq has a 52 week low of $76.55 and a 52 week high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The business’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nasdaq will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 37.35%.

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.