Nasdaq Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 5,215 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 115% compared to the average daily volume of 2,427 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.89, for a total transaction of $181,826.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,511,710.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in Nasdaq by 89.3% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $67.52. 7,367,028 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,854,519. Nasdaq has a 1 year low of $46.88 and a 1 year high of $67.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.24, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average of $60.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.81.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. Nasdaq’s revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is 50.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NDAQ shares. Edward Jones started coverage on Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Rosenblatt Securities cut Nasdaq from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Nasdaq from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised Nasdaq from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.25.

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.