Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $92.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Nasdaq traded as high as $74.93 and last traded at $74.91, with a volume of 2065641 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $74.14.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Raymond James raised Nasdaq from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Nasdaq from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.06.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, major shareholder Seller Lp Argus sold 42,804,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total value of $2,764,295,688.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,804,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,764,295,688.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 94.8% during the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in Nasdaq by 89.3% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.0 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $43.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.95.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 15.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.53%.

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.