Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Short Interest Down 17.0% in February

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 6,600,984 shares, a decline of 17.0% from the February 12th total of 7,948,974 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,567,497 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,567,497 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.91, for a total transaction of $29,073,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,542,349.73. The trade was a 13.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 697,340 shares of company stock worth $66,803,072 in the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 2.3% in the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orgel Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $85.85. The stock had a trading volume of 2,301,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,795,300. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $90.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.69. Nasdaq has a 52 week low of $64.84 and a 52 week high of $101.79. The company has a market capitalization of $48.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The company’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 34.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on NDAQ shares. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Argus upgraded shares of Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.80.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.