Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.50.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NDAQ shares. Redburn Atlantic raised Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Nasdaq from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $74.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.0%

Nasdaq stock traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $81.57. 3,616,147 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,851,295. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $46.83 billion, a PE ratio of 42.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $74.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.79. Nasdaq has a 12 month low of $58.28 and a 12 month high of $84.15.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total transaction of $47,179.17. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,450,783.80. The trade was a 1.05% 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, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. This trade represents a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc increased its stake in Nasdaq by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 8,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Nasdaq by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.