Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock Price Down 4.2% – Here’s What Happened

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) dropped 4.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $85.57 and last traded at $85.5220. Approximately 2,481,393 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 3,866,181 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NDAQ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.36.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.3%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $88.84 and a 200-day moving average of $90.01. The stock has a market cap of $46.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Nasdaq’s revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 113,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total value of $9,706,923.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,965,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,953,765.44. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total transaction of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 215,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,530,126. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 138,162 shares of company stock worth $11,932,913 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 14.5% during the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 31.4% in the first quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd now owns 47,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,015,000 after purchasing an additional 11,298 shares during the period. Militia Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the first quarter valued at $555,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Nasdaq by 58.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $743,000 after buying an additional 3,225 shares during the period. Finally, Carlson Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the 1st quarter worth about $1,672,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nasdaq

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.