Entropy Technologies LP Boosts Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. $NDAQ

Entropy Technologies LP boosted its stake in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 487.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 81,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 67,824 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $6,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nasdaq by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 2,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Boreal Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Nasdaq by 30.7% in the 1st quarter. Boreal Capital Management LLC now owns 10,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 2,508 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in Nasdaq by 1,243.7% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 239,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,341,000 after buying an additional 221,783 shares during the last quarter. Bollard Group LLC grew its stake in Nasdaq by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 73,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,226,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in Nasdaq by 47.2% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 200,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,033,000 after buying an additional 64,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nasdaq in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.73.

Trending Headlines about Nasdaq

Here are the key news stories impacting Nasdaq this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nasdaq delivered a solid Q2 beat on both earnings and revenue, with strong growth in index and FinTech driving better-than-expected results and record Market Services performance. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, which may appeal to income-focused investors and signals continued shareholder returns. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted its price target to $102, indicating improved valuation expectations even though the rating remained market perform. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Nasdaq’s July short-interest report showed 0 shares short and a 0.0-day days-to-cover figure, which appears more like a data anomaly than a meaningful trading signal. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also ended its Miami case and sold its fund secondaries business, a portfolio move that may be viewed as strategic housekeeping rather than a major earnings driver. Article Title

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, major shareholder Ab Investor acquired 56,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $85.98 per share, for a total transaction of $4,882,116.36. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,439,208 shares in the company, valued at $5,024,603,103.84. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bradley J. Peterson sold 7,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.82, for a total transaction of $700,222.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 141,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,808,798.70. This trade represents a 5.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nasdaq Stock Up 1.8%

NDAQ opened at $92.09 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $87.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $52.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.99. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.55 and a 52 week high of $101.79.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.09. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 18.38% and a net margin of 22.60%.The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.35%.

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.