Nasdaq's (NDAQ) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $95.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on NDAQ. William Blair began coverage on Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Nasdaq from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.20.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of Nasdaq stock traded up $1.66 during trading on Thursday, reaching $78.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,600,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,919,041. The firm has a market cap of $44.84 billion, a PE ratio of 46.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Nasdaq has a fifty-two week low of $54.90 and a fifty-two week high of $83.77.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. Nasdaq's quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Nasdaq's payout ratio is currently 57.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.92, for a total value of $935,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 114,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,928,073.60. This represents a 9.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.32, for a total transaction of $1,027,515.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 142,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,757,955.60. The trade was a 8.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,459 shares of company stock valued at $3,811,808 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its position in Nasdaq by 94.8% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 415 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.