Rosenblatt Securities Cuts Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Price Target to $76.00

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) had its target price decreased by Rosenblatt Securities from $82.00 to $76.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Rosenblatt Securities currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on NDAQ. Barclays initiated coverage on Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set an overweight rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Nasdaq from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $73.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com raised Nasdaq from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Nasdaq from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $66.92.

Nasdaq Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $60.12 on Friday. Nasdaq has a one year low of $46.88 and a one year high of $64.25. The company has a market cap of $34.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.64, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $59.93 and a 200-day moving average of $56.55.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.02). Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 15.98%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This is a positive change from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is presently 50.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total value of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,341,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,383,809,610. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 7,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.91, for a total transaction of $465,534.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,879,785.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total transaction of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,341,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,383,809,610. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 428,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,828,000 after purchasing an additional 140,286 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 10.9% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 446,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,715,000 after buying an additional 43,910 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 53,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,455 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. grew its stake in Nasdaq by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 365,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,250,000 after acquiring an additional 83,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,326,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,396,000 after acquiring an additional 40,215 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.