Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $86.50.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NDAQ. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Redburn Atlantic raised Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Nasdaq from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a "cautious" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.2%

NDAQ stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $84.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,385,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,942,287. The company has a market cap of $48.23 billion, a PE ratio of 43.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.00. Nasdaq has a 12 month low of $58.28 and a 12 month high of $84.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm's 50-day moving average is $76.84 and its 200-day moving average is $78.39.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This is an increase from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is 49.09%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total transaction of $664,240.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 211,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,552,957.15. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares in the company, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,616 shares of company stock valued at $1,813,598. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Nasdaq by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,979,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,019,037,000 after buying an additional 403,248 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 5.1% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,433,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,550,115,000 after buying an additional 993,553 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,018,705 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $849,783,000 after buying an additional 257,465 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,379,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $802,401,000 after buying an additional 1,225,672 shares during the period. Finally, Harris Associates L P lifted its position in Nasdaq by 1.2% during the first quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,693,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $659,487,000 after purchasing an additional 101,983 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.