Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Short Interest Up 37.7% in March

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,750,000 shares, an increase of 37.7% from the March 15th total of 3,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,170,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Nasdaq Stock Down 2.4 %

NDAQ traded down $1.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.52. 4,148,660 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,432,320. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $59.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Nasdaq has a fifty-two week low of $46.88 and a fifty-two week high of $64.25. The stock has a market cap of $35.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.93.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 17.48%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Nasdaq's payout ratio is 41.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NDAQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Nasdaq from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

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

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Nasdaq by 4.5% during the first quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 1,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in Nasdaq by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC grew its stake in Nasdaq by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC now owns 29,446 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,247,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,142 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in Nasdaq by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 1,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 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.