Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock Rating Upgraded by Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) from an underperform rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $90.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $53.00.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Nasdaq from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays increased their target price on Nasdaq from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered shares of Nasdaq from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the company from $76.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $71.69.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock opened at $71.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.67 and a 200-day moving average of $62.40. The company has a market cap of $41.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Nasdaq has a 52 week low of $46.88 and a 52 week high of $74.17.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 15.45%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.53%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In related news, major shareholder Seller Lp Argus sold 42,804,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total transaction of $2,764,295,688.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,804,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,764,295,688.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NDAQ. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in Nasdaq by 89.3% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC raised 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 bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors 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.