Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Reaches New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $82.44 and last traded at $82.44, with a volume of 901455 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.52.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NDAQ. StockNews.com cut Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Raymond James raised Nasdaq from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.87.

Nasdaq Trading Up 1.1 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.31, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.71, for a total value of $454,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 215,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,320,274.73. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,505 shares in the company, valued at $8,072,268.75. The trade was a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,459 shares of company stock valued at $3,811,808. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in Nasdaq by 94.8% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 164.4% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. 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.