Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Sets New 1-Year High After Dividend Announcement

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $82.44 and last traded at $82.44, with a volume of 901455 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $81.52.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NDAQ shares. William Blair began coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays increased their target price on Nasdaq from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.87.

Nasdaq Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.27 and a 200-day moving average of $68.30. The firm has a market cap of $47.38 billion, a PE ratio of 49.31, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.95.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,072,268.75. This represents a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 5,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 205,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,918,196.14. This represents a 2.71 % 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 quarter. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 60,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,420,000 after acquiring an additional 16,868 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the third quarter valued at about $1,266,000. Sfmg LLC purchased a new stake in Nasdaq in the third quarter worth about $207,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at about $651,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 50,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,103,000 after acquiring an additional 410 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.