Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) CEO Sells $9,706,923.84 in Stock

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) CEO Adena Friedman sold 113,611 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total value of $9,706,923.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,965,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,953,765.44. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $86.65 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.84 and a 52-week high of $101.79. The stock has a market cap of $49.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.04, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $86.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.77%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 34.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in Nasdaq by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,652,000 after purchasing an additional 10,110 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 22.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 345.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the second quarter valued at $284,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NDAQ. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price objective on Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Argus raised Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.71.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.