Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Nasdaq from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. 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 report on Thursday, October 3rd. Raymond James upgraded 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.87.

Nasdaq Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Nasdaq stock opened at $80.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.95. Nasdaq has a 52-week low of $53.62 and a 52-week high of $81.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.91.

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. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 13.67%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 57.49%.

Insider Activity

In other Nasdaq news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 5,742 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $444,086.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 205,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,918,196.14. The trade was a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.32, for a total transaction of $1,027,515.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 142,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,757,955.60. The trade was a 8.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,459 shares of company stock worth $3,811,808 over the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Nasdaq by 164.4% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the first quarter valued at $31,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.