The Goldman Sachs Group Raises Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Price Target to $83.00

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) had its target price upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $77.00 to $83.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen began coverage on Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. They issued a hold rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Nasdaq from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on Nasdaq from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, September 27th. They issued an outperform rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $74.40.

Nasdaq Price Performance

Shares of NDAQ opened at $72.12 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Nasdaq has a twelve month low of $47.56 and a twelve month high of $74.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.92 and a 200-day moving average of $64.50.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 15.45%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Seller Lp Argus sold 42,804,207 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total transaction of $2,764,295,688.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,804,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,764,295,688.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 89.3% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Nasdaq by 164.4% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors 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.