Brokerages Set Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) PT at $86.88

Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $86.88.

NDAQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Nasdaq by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 638,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,391,000 after purchasing an additional 9,178 shares during the last quarter. 111 Capital bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth $971,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in Nasdaq by 70.9% in the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,749,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $75.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.35, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Nasdaq has a 12 month low of $58.10 and a 12 month high of $84.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $79.17 and its 200-day moving average is $77.47.

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

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

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.