Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Reaches New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $90.67 and last traded at $90.51, with a volume of 167387 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $90.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NDAQ has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Oppenheimer set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.81.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $84.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $51.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 16.36%. Nasdaq's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.09%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 11,508 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total value of $1,022,715.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 111,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,867,680.45. This trade represents a 9.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 8,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 211,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,552,957.15. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,613 shares of company stock worth $1,874,659. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,979,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,019,037,000 after purchasing an additional 403,248 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 5.1% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 993,553 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Nasdaq by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,018,705 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $849,783,000 after acquiring an additional 257,465 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,225,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harris Associates L P lifted its position 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 worth $659,487,000 after purchasing an additional 101,983 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently 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.