Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Sets New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $74.95 and last traded at $74.80, with a volume of 1054824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.91.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NDAQ. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their price target on Nasdaq from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.07.

Nasdaq Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.60. The firm has a market cap of $43.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.95.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 15.45%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, major shareholder Seller Lp Argus sold 42,804,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total value of $2,764,295,688.06. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,804,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,764,295,688.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at $287,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,498,000 after buying an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 3,030 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 196.5% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,010,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,793,000 after purchasing an additional 670,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 9.6% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,163,000 after buying an additional 1,610 shares during the last quarter. 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.