Insider Selling: Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Insider Sells $247,326.45 in Stock

Key Points

• Nasdaq insider Tal Cohen sold 2,289 shares for about $247,326 at an average price of $108.05, reducing his holdings by 1.12% to 202,787 shares.
• Nasdaq reported quarterly EPS of $1.04, beating the $1.02 consensus estimate; revenue rose 12.6% year over year to $2.39 billion.
• Shares fell 2.6% to $106.83 in Thursday trading. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $113.53.

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) insider Tal Cohen sold 2,289 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.05, for a total value of $247,326.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 202,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,911,135.35. The trade was a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Cohen Tal also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, October 23rd, Tal Cohen sold 10,390 shares of Nasdaq stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.34, for a total value of $1,073,702.60.

Nasdaq Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of Nasdaq stock traded down $2.87 on Thursday, reaching $106.83. 4,743,976 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,798,428. The company has a market capitalization of $59.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.95. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.55 and a 52 week high of $111.45. The firm's 50-day moving average is $96.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.47 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 22.81% and a return on equity of 19.03%. Nasdaq's revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on Nasdaq from $135.00 to $132.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Nasdaq from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Nasdaq from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Nasdaq from $119.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $113.53.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Eastern Bank raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 168.0% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 268 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology and market infrastructure company best known for operating the Nasdaq Stock Market, one of the world's largest electronic stock exchanges. The company provides listing services for public companies and operates trading venues for equities, options and other financial products. Its exchange business serves companies, investors and market participants in the United States, as well as through Nasdaq's Nordic and Baltic market operations.

Beyond its exchange activities, Nasdaq provides market data, analytics, indexes and technology used by exchanges, brokers, banks, asset managers and other financial institutions.

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