Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

NDAQ has been the topic of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Argus upped their price objective on Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Nasdaq from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.53.

Nasdaq Trading Down 0.9 %

NDAQ stock opened at $80.12 on Friday. Nasdaq has a one year low of $54.54 and a one year high of $83.77. The stock has a market cap of $46.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $77.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 14.56%. Nasdaq’s revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 5,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $444,086.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 205,821 shares in the company, valued at $15,918,196.14. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.92, for a total transaction of $935,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 114,580 shares in the company, valued at $8,928,073.60. This represents a 9.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,459 shares of company stock worth $3,811,808 in the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 94.8% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter worth $33,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by 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.