Entropy Technologies LP Buys 42,731 Shares of Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Entropy Technologies LP raised its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 749.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,731 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $4,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 3,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4.9% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 4.6% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in Nasdaq by 3.3% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Trading Down 1.7%

NDAQ stock opened at $84.06 on Friday. Nasdaq, Inc. has a one year low of $64.84 and a one year high of $101.79. The stock has a market cap of $47.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $90.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The company’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.80.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total transaction of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at $12,568,656.74. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 92,840 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.08, for a total value of $8,363,027.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,079,323 shares in the company, valued at $187,305,415.84. The trade was a 4.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 697,340 shares of company stock valued at $66,803,072 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.