Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) had its price objective increased by UBS Group from $79.00 to $89.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on NDAQ. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup boosted 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.88.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $82.28 on Thursday. Nasdaq has a twelve month low of $54.90 and a twelve month high of $83.77. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $79.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.56. The company has a market capitalization of $47.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.27, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.98.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 14.56%. As a group, analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.92, for a total value of $935,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 114,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,928,073.60. The trade was a 9.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 5,742 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 205,821 shares in the company, valued at $15,918,196.14. The trade was a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,817 shares of company stock worth $2,330,033 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Founders Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Nasdaq by 106.6% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.