Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Announces Dividend Increase - $0.24 Per Share

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of 0.24 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This is a positive change from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22.

Nasdaq has increased its dividend payment by an average of 10.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 12 years. Nasdaq has a payout ratio of 28.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Nasdaq to earn $3.10 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.4%.

Nasdaq Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NDAQ traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $60.12. The stock had a trading volume of 4,792,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,181,565. Nasdaq has a 1 year low of $46.88 and a 1 year high of $64.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock's 50 day moving average is $59.84 and its 200 day moving average is $56.39. The firm has a market cap of $34.58 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.93.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.02). Nasdaq had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 17.48%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. Nasdaq's revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $73.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Edward Jones started coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set a "buy" rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other news, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total transaction of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,341,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,383,809,610. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 7,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.91, for a total transaction of $465,534.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,879,785.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total transaction of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,341,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,383,809,610. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.