Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Reaches New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Nasdaq, Inc. shares reached a new 52-week high at $95.89, indicating a strong performance compared to its previous close of $95.14.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded their ratings for Nasdaq, with 14 out of 18 analysts issuing a buy rating and a consensus price target of $96.63.
• Nasdaq has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27, representing an annualized yield of 1.13%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 12th.

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $95.89 and last traded at $95.83, with a volume of 3516786 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Nasdaq from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group raised shares of Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $101.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.63.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $88.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.12. The firm has a market cap of $54.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.07. Nasdaq had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. Nasdaq's revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.54%.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.17, for a total value of $187,702.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 94,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,440,475.52. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michelle Lynn Daly sold 8,691 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.45, for a total transaction of $812,173.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,879 shares in the company, valued at $829,742.55. The trade was a 49.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,304 shares of company stock worth $2,686,833. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 0.8% during 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 valued at $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 valued at $849,783,000 after buying an additional 257,465 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 101,983 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Nasdaq by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,954,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $537,640,000 after purchasing an additional 335,565 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company's stock.

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.