Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) EVP Sells $1,102,179.12 in Stock

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at $4,398,253.92. This trade represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ traded up $1.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.58. 2,223,802 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,768,423. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $79.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.38. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.10 and a 1 year high of $84.15. The stock has a market cap of $44.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. Equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NDAQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.88.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Nasdaq by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 638,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,391,000 after purchasing an additional 9,178 shares during the period. 111 Capital purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth about $971,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,480,000 after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 70.9% during the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,749,000. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.