Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $84.15 and last traded at $83.68, with a volume of 262137 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $48.20 billion, a PE ratio of 43.73, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.18.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. Equities analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total value of $950,906.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 102,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,072,268.75. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,532,778.56. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 163.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,833,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,835,235,000 after purchasing an additional 24,084,154 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,951,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,310,653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811,616 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 9.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,761,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $783,181,000 after purchasing an additional 932,665 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 14.6% during the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 8,596,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $627,596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096,090 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 13,532.3% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,040,000 after purchasing an additional 3,970,658 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

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.