Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Sets New 1-Year High After Dividend Announcement

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $80.51 and last traded at $80.51, with a volume of 1928 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $79.87.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 57.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NDAQ. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.87.

Nasdaq Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $74.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.35. The stock has a market cap of $45.27 billion, a PE ratio of 47.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 13.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 6,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.71, for a total value of $454,260.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 215,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,320,274.73. The trade was a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.92, for a total transaction of $935,040.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,580 shares in the company, valued at $8,928,073.60. The trade was a 9.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,384 shares of company stock valued at $2,860,902. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the third quarter worth $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in Nasdaq by 94.8% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the second quarter worth $26,000. Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the third quarter worth $35,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.