Nasdaq (NDAQ) Set to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) is scheduled to announce its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 17.48% and a return on equity of 19.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Nasdaq to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Nasdaq Stock Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ:NDAQ opened at $60.19 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.93. Nasdaq has a 52 week low of $46.88 and a 52 week high of $64.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $59.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.82.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total value of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,341,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,383,809,610. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Nasdaq news, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 7,400 shares of Nasdaq stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.91, for a total value of $465,534.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,879,785.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Dubai Ltd Borse sold 31,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.00, for a total value of $1,798,000,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,341,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,383,809,610. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NDAQ. RB Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Nasdaq by 15.9% during the first quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 3,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Nasdaq by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in Nasdaq by 14.1% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 8.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 136,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,319,000 after purchasing an additional 10,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 32.0% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 316,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,373,000 after buying an additional 76,603 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NDAQ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays began coverage on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Nasdaq from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $80.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.09.

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.