Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Receives $72.86 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $73.87.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NDAQ shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Nasdaq in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, major shareholder Seller Lp Argus sold 42,804,207 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total value of $2,764,295,688.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,804,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,764,295,688.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 1.6% in the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 11,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Nasdaq by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 32,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,967,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Nasdaq by 89.3% in 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $72.60 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $70.10 and its 200-day moving average is $64.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $41.76 billion, a PE ratio of 38.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.95. Nasdaq has a 12-month low of $46.88 and a 12-month high of $74.88.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 50.53%.

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.