Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock Price

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) had its target price lifted by Bank of America from $103.00 to $105.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on NDAQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $79.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.94.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $68.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.53 and a 200 day moving average of $77.62. Nasdaq has a 52 week low of $58.10 and a 52 week high of $84.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 11.9% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 5,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 638,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,391,000 after purchasing an additional 9,178 shares during the period. 111 Capital purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth approximately $971,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its position in Nasdaq by 70.9% during the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. 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.