Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Raymond James upped their target price on Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.88.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NDAQ opened at $74.91 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $79.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. Nasdaq has a 1-year low of $58.10 and a 1-year high of $84.15.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. Analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,778.56. This represents a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at $4,398,253.92. The trade was a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at $124,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 9.1% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 13.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 46,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,362,000 after buying an additional 5,415 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the third quarter worth about $249,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq during the third quarter valued at about $263,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.