Bank of America Cuts Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Price Target to $88.00

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) had its price target lowered by Bank of America from $90.00 to $88.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on NDAQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Nasdaq from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, September 27th. They set an outperform rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Nasdaq from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $74.40.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ stock opened at $72.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50-day moving average is $70.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.52. Nasdaq has a 1 year low of $47.56 and a 1 year high of $74.88.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 15.45% and a net margin of 14.43%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Seller Lp Argus sold 42,804,207 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total transaction of $2,764,295,688.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,804,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,764,295,688.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in Nasdaq by 94.8% during the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in Nasdaq by 89.3% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in Nasdaq by 164.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the first quarter worth about $31,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.