Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $81.19, but opened at $79.25. Nasdaq shares last traded at $79.67, with a volume of 1,766,182 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Nasdaq from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com raised 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, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.88.

Nasdaq Trading Up 0.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $47.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $79.53 and its 200 day moving average is $74.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 15.10%. Equities analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Nasdaq’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total value of $950,906.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,072,268.75. This represents a 10.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 5,742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total value of $444,086.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 205,821 shares in the company, valued at $15,918,196.14. The trade was a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,817 shares of company stock valued at $2,330,033 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Olstein Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 80,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,185,000 after buying an additional 21,000 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 75.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 53,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,170,000 after buying an additional 23,244 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the fourth quarter valued at $856,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 49.8% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 164,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,987,000 after acquiring an additional 54,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cumberland Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,400,000. 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.