Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Receives $79.07 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.47.

Several brokerages have commented on NDAQ. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Nasdaq from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd.

Nasdaq Trading Down 0.7 %

Nasdaq stock opened at $74.69 on Tuesday. Nasdaq has a 12-month low of $47.56 and a 12-month high of $75.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.02 billion, a PE ratio of 42.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.70.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.45% and a net margin of 14.43%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors 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 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, major shareholder Seller Lp Argus sold 42,804,207 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total transaction of $2,764,295,688.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,804,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,764,295,688.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,239,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,043,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,173,981 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 28.4% during the first quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 8,436,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $532,357,000 after buying an additional 1,866,219 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 2.0% during the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,767,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $287,270,000 after buying an additional 94,122 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 26.5% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,878,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $181,609,000 after buying an additional 602,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,443,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,272,000 after acquiring an additional 82,606 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is 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.