Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Short Interest Down 24.4% in April

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,590,000 shares, a decline of 24.4% from the March 31st total of 4,750,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,250,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Nasdaq Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ traded down $0.17 on Friday, hitting $60.12. 4,792,137 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,934,295. Nasdaq has a 52 week low of $46.88 and a 52 week high of $64.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.55. The company has a market cap of $34.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.64, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.93.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.02). Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. Nasdaq's revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This is an increase from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Nasdaq from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $59.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Nasdaq from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $73.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 89.3% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 426 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 74.9% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 815 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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