Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Price Target Raised to $89.00 at UBS Group

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) had its target price lifted by UBS Group from $79.00 to $89.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Raymond James lifted 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. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Nasdaq from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.88.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NDAQ opened at $82.28 on Thursday. Nasdaq has a 12 month low of $54.90 and a 12 month high of $83.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $47.29 billion, a PE ratio of 49.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.98.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 13.67%. Equities analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total transaction of $950,906.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,072,268.75. This represents a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 5,742 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $444,086.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 205,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,918,196.14. This trade represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,817 shares of company stock valued at $2,330,033. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Founders Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 106.6% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.