Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $99.54 and last traded at $99.2710, with a volume of 132934 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $99.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NDAQ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $111.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $99.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.40.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $89.92 and its 200 day moving average is $90.82. The stock has a market cap of $56.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.06. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 19.90%.The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.57%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 2,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.40, for a total transaction of $179,767.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 84,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,779.60. The trade was a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,274,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,438,897,000 after purchasing an additional 6,840,735 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the second quarter worth $406,823,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 6.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,648,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,275,902,000 after acquiring an additional 3,848,406 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 261.7% during the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,690,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $240,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,946,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Nasdaq by 4,365.0% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,641,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604,368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.