Short Interest in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Increases By 19.9%

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,150,000 shares, an increase of 19.9% from the January 15th total of 3,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total transaction of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,532,778.56. This trade represents a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Nasdaq by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 80,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,185,000 after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 75.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 53,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,170,000 after acquiring an additional 23,244 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 44,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,454,000 after acquiring an additional 9,130 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at $856,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 49.8% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 164,179 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,987,000 after acquiring an additional 54,594 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock traded up $1.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $82.59. 2,233,166 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,730,026. Nasdaq has a 12-month low of $54.90 and a 12-month high of $84.15. The company has a market capitalization of $47.47 billion, a PE ratio of 43.02, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $79.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq's payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on NDAQ shares. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Nasdaq from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.88.

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.