Nasdaq’s (NDAQ) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $95.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on NDAQ. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.20.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $78.02 on Thursday. Nasdaq has a 1 year low of $54.90 and a 1 year high of $83.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $79.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.60. 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 company has a market cap of $44.84 billion, a PE ratio of 46.72, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.98.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.49%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total transaction of $950,906.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,072,268.75. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 5,742 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total value of $444,086.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 205,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,918,196.14. The trade was a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,459 shares of company stock valued at $3,811,808 over the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 94.8% during the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.