Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,050,000 shares, a decrease of 16.7% from the July 31st total of 4,860,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,780,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NDAQ. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Nasdaq from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Nasdaq from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.54.

Nasdaq Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $72.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.81. The stock has a market cap of $41.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.94. Nasdaq has a 1-year low of $46.88 and a 1-year high of $72.14.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.45% and a net margin of 14.43%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Nasdaq will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 50.53%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, major shareholder Seller Lp Argus sold 42,804,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total transaction of $2,764,295,688.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,804,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,764,295,688.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 240,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,198,000 after buying an additional 16,797 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $1,949,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 312.0% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 183,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,601,000 after purchasing an additional 139,228 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 415,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,134,000 after purchasing an additional 46,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 237.3% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 30,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,946,000 after buying an additional 21,699 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.