Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Trading Down 4.2% – Here’s Why

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) shares traded down 4.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $85.57 and last traded at $85.5220. 2,481,393 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 3,866,181 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on NDAQ shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Loop Capital set a $113.00 price target on Nasdaq in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on Nasdaq from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $106.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.36.

Nasdaq Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $89.02 and a 200-day moving average of $90.12. The firm has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 23.15%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Nasdaq’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nasdaq news, major shareholder Ab Investor bought 56,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 58,439,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,024,603,103.84. The trade was a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cohen Tal sold 15,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total value of $1,408,258.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 215,208 shares in the company, valued at $19,530,126. This represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 138,162 shares of company stock worth $11,932,913. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nasdaq

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Nasdaq by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,855,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,329,000 after acquiring an additional 45,783 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Nasdaq by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 61,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,933,000 after acquiring an additional 13,160 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,245,000. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,872,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Nasdaq by 129.2% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 55,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,877,000 after acquiring an additional 31,081 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

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.