Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) EVP Bradley Peterson Sells 7,710 Shares

Key Points

• Nasdaq EVP Bradley Peterson sold 7,710 shares on April 28 at an average price of $90.82 for $700,222, reducing his position by 5.18% to 141,035 shares (about $12.8M).
• Nasdaq beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $0.96 vs. $0.93 and reported revenue of $2.14 billion (up 13.7% year-over-year), with analysts forecasting FY EPS of 3.86.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 (from $0.27), an annualized $1.24 payout (~1.3% yield), and the stock holds a consensus "Moderate Buy" target of $107.15.

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) EVP Bradley Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total value of $700,222.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 141,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,808,798.70. This represents a 5.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $91.91. 2,477,297 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,127,756. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.54 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The company has a market cap of $52.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.64.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq's payout ratio is 37.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $530,100,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Nasdaq by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,275,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,848,406 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Nasdaq by 62.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,266,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $900,061,000 after purchasing an additional 3,567,843 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC raised its stake in Nasdaq by 82.0% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 6,073,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $589,897,000 after purchasing an additional 2,736,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harris Associates L P increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,621,689 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $837,425,000 after acquiring an additional 2,716,280 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 target price on Nasdaq and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Loop Capital set a $113.00 target price on Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.15.

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.

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