Analysts Set Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) PT at $103.13

Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $103.1333.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Nasdaq from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Argus upgraded Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up previously from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $28,917,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $185,541,400.17. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 604,500 shares of company stock worth $58,440,045 over the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at $2,569,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at $223,000. AlTi Global Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth $322,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 111,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,842,000 after buying an additional 44,019 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ stock opened at $79.47 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $45.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Nasdaq has a 1 year low of $64.84 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.17.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 34.95%.

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.