Adena Friedman Sells 113,611 Shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) CEO Adena Friedman sold 113,611 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total value of $9,706,923.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,965,751 shares in the company, valued at $167,953,765.44. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.8%

Nasdaq stock traded up $1.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $86.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,511,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,389,008. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $86.82 and its 200 day moving average is $89.84. The company has a market cap of $49.26 billion, a PE ratio of 28.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.84 and a 52-week high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.77%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NDAQ shares. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 9th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.71.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Front Row Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.