Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Price Target Raised to $82.00

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) had its price objective hoisted by UBS Group from $76.00 to $82.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on NDAQ. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Nasdaq from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Nasdaq from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.18.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NDAQ stock opened at $75.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $43.34 billion, a PE ratio of 39.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $75.07 and a 200-day moving average of $77.41. Nasdaq has a 12-month low of $58.28 and a 12-month high of $84.15.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This is a boost from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,116 shares of company stock valued at $1,434,818 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NDAQ. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Nasdaq by 194.6% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 1,509.5% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

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.