Morgan Stanley Increases Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Price Target to $92.00

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $92.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on NDAQ. Bank of America dropped their target price on Nasdaq from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen started coverage on Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Nasdaq from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.07.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $74.91 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $43.09 billion, a PE ratio of 39.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.95. Nasdaq has a 52 week low of $47.56 and a 52 week high of $74.93. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.27.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 15.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Nasdaq will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.53%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, major shareholder Seller Lp Argus sold 42,804,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total transaction of $2,764,295,688.06. Following the sale, the insider now owns 42,804,207 shares in the company, valued at $2,764,295,688.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 12.0% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 20,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after acquiring an additional 2,171 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,328,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,993,000 after purchasing an additional 55,248 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at $805,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 96.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by 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.