Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Announces $0.27 Quarterly Dividend

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 24th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of 0.27 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, September 26th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th.

Nasdaq has a payout ratio of 30.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Nasdaq to earn $3.61 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.9%.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ traded up $1.34 on Friday, hitting $94.84. 5,276,392 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,258,497. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $86.87 and a 200-day moving average of $80.60. The stock has a market cap of $54.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.01. Nasdaq has a 52 week low of $64.33 and a 52 week high of $95.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.07. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 18.59%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. Nasdaq's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 8,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total transaction of $664,240.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 211,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,552,957.15. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total transaction of $1,022,715.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 111,035 shares in the company, valued at $9,867,680.45. This represents a 9.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,613 shares of company stock valued at $1,874,659. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Nasdaq by 345.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 22.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP boosted 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 worth $2,652,000 after purchasing an additional 10,110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NDAQ shares. UBS Group raised shares of Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.63.

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.