Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

NDAQ has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays reduced their price target on Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.88.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $76.36 on Thursday. Nasdaq has a twelve month low of $58.10 and a twelve month high of $84.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $79.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.53. The company has a market capitalization of $43.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.77, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. As a group, analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,532,778.56. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 638,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,391,000 after purchasing an additional 9,178 shares during the period. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $971,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in Nasdaq by 70.9% during the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at $48,749,000. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

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.