Piper Sandler Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) had its price objective lifted by Piper Sandler from $80.00 to $83.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on NDAQ. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Nasdaq from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $74.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Nasdaq from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.63.

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Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ traded up $1.23 on Tuesday, reaching $71.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,136,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,842,130. Nasdaq has a 52-week low of $58.10 and a 52-week high of $84.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.26, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's 50-day moving average is $76.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total transaction of $47,179.17. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,450,783.80. This trade represents a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total transaction of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. This represents a 20.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,116 shares of company stock valued at $1,434,818. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Founders Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Nasdaq by 106.6% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 436 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.