Sentry Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 190 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Nasdaq were worth $103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Nasdaq by 250.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC lifted its holdings in Nasdaq by 93.9% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup upped their target price 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Nasdaq from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Edward Jones initiated coverage on Nasdaq in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.09.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Nasdaq stock opened at $60.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Nasdaq, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.88 and a fifty-two week high of $64.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.96. The company has a market capitalization of $34.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.93.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 17.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.71%.

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.