Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02, Zacks reports. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 13.67%.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ traded down $1.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $80.04. 2,474,788 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,573,648. The company has a market capitalization of $46.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.46. Nasdaq has a 12 month low of $54.90 and a 12 month high of $83.77.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 5,742 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total value of $444,086.28. Following the sale, the insider now owns 205,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,918,196.14. This trade represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.92, for a total value of $935,040.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,928,073.60. This trade represents a 9.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,817 shares of company stock worth $2,330,033 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NDAQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.73.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.