Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Short Interest Update

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,110,000 shares, a decrease of 12.6% from the December 31st total of 4,700,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ stock opened at $82.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $47.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.89, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.98. Nasdaq has a twelve month low of $54.90 and a twelve month high of $83.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.70.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.91%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Nasdaq's payout ratio is 50.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NDAQ shares. StockNews.com upgraded Nasdaq from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Argus upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total value of $950,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,505 shares in the company, valued at $8,072,268.75. This trade represents a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 5,742 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $444,086.28. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 205,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,918,196.14. This trade represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,817 shares of company stock valued at $2,330,033 over the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its position in Nasdaq by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 6,030 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 2,936 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Nasdaq by 1,274.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 907 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 67,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 61,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,086,000 after purchasing an additional 11,198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.

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