Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $87.81 and last traded at $87.55, with a volume of 81354 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $86.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on NDAQ. Oppenheimer set a $96.00 price objective on Nasdaq and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Nasdaq from $84.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.19.

Nasdaq Stock Down 0.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.90. The stock has a market cap of $50.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.00.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 16.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total value of $47,179.17. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,450,783.80. This trade represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total value of $664,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 211,405 shares in the company, valued at $17,552,957.15. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,274,000 after purchasing an additional 3,096 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 61.1% in the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 17,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 6,764 shares during the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $274,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 892.3% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 60,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,689,000 after purchasing an additional 54,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at $48,749,000. 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.