Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $101.31 and last traded at $101.4890, with a volume of 671670 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, January 12th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $113.00 target price (up previously from $111.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $99.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.67.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $93.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.02. The stock has a market cap of $57.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.06, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.06. Nasdaq had a net margin of 19.90% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Nasdaq’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.40, for a total value of $179,767.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 84,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,256,779.60. The trade was a 2.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $28,917,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $185,541,400.17. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 306,605 shares of company stock valued at $29,546,812 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,275,902,000 after buying an additional 3,848,406 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Nasdaq by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,274,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,438,897,000 after acquiring an additional 6,840,735 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Nasdaq by 7.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,619,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,735,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404,348 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 0.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,456,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,020,366,000 after purchasing an additional 89,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 11.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,044,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $446,188,000 after purchasing an additional 532,775 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.