Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Rating Increased to Buy at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $98.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $80.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on NDAQ. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Nasdaq from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Nasdaq from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nasdaq currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.73.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NASDAQ NDAQ opened at $78.02 on Wednesday. Nasdaq has a 12 month low of $54.90 and a 12 month high of $83.77. The firm has a market capitalization 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 13.67%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 2.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.92, for a total transaction of $935,040.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 13,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.32, for a total transaction of $1,027,515.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 142,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,757,955.60. This trade represents a 8.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,459 shares of company stock worth $3,811,808. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter worth $33,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

About Nasdaq

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.