Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $103.7143.

A number of brokerages recently commented on NDAQ. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 9th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Argus raised shares of Nasdaq to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 113,611 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total transaction of $9,706,923.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,965,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,953,765.44. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 510,951 shares of company stock worth $47,592,996 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 2.3% during the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Orgel Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $86.65 on Tuesday. Nasdaq has a 1 year low of $64.84 and a 1 year high of $101.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.26 billion, a PE ratio of 28.04, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business’s 50-day moving average is $86.35 and its 200 day moving average is $89.75.

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

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 34.95%.

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.