Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Declares $0.24 Quarterly Dividend

Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 29th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.24 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%.

Nasdaq has raised its dividend payment by an average of 10.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 12 years. Nasdaq has a dividend payout ratio of 26.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Nasdaq to earn $3.14 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.6%.

Nasdaq Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $78.15 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.46. Nasdaq has a 12-month low of $54.90 and a 12-month high of $83.77. The firm has a market cap of $44.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.98. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 13.67%. Analysts predict that Nasdaq will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NDAQ shares. StockNews.com raised Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Nasdaq from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $98.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.73.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 5,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 205,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,918,196.14. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,072,268.75. This represents a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,817 shares of company stock valued at $2,330,033 over the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.