Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Research Coverage Started at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $100.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, July 20th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $113.00 target price (up from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research lowered Nasdaq from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $110.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.25.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $90.33 on Friday. Nasdaq has a 12 month low of $76.55 and a 12 month high of $101.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $50.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.99.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 18.38% and a net margin of 22.60%.The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bradley Peterson sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $1,203,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 128,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,881,214.73. The trade was a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $106,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 100,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,506,935. This represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 44,047 shares of company stock valued at $4,139,191 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CX Institutional grew its position in Nasdaq by 6.9% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 8,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 10.9% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,229,000 after acquiring an additional 2,788 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 134,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,615,000 after acquiring an additional 4,090 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Wellington Altus USA Inc. grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 89.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology, market infrastructure and exchange company headquartered in New York City. The company operates Nasdaq stock exchanges in the United States and provides trading, clearing, settlement, listing and market data services. Through its Nordic and Baltic operations, Nasdaq also serves financial markets across Northern Europe.

Nasdaq’s business includes exchange and market services, index development, investment intelligence, and technology solutions for exchanges, brokers, banks, asset managers and other financial institutions.