Ninety One UK Ltd Boosts Stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,901,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 278,265 shares during the period. Intercontinental Exchange accounts for 1.1% of Ninety One UK Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $372,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ICE. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 219.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,146,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,336,371,000 after buying an additional 8,348,126 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at about $579,605,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,114,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,755,753,000 after buying an additional 5,354,161 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 25,406,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,606,466,000 after purchasing an additional 4,044,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 59.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,275,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $564,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589,999 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 7,070 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.09, for a total value of $962,156.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,501,742.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 7,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.09, for a total transaction of $962,156.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,501,742.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.83, for a total transaction of $69,415.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,326 shares in the company, valued at $2,544,198.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 157,491 shares of company stock worth $21,454,204. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

ICE traded down $0.23 on Thursday, reaching $130.51. The company had a trading volume of 749,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,382,136. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 1 year low of $103.81 and a 1 year high of $140.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.73 billion, a PE ratio of 31.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $136.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.22.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 23.91% and a return on equity of 12.91%. Intercontinental Exchange’s quarterly revenue was up 24.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Intercontinental Exchange’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is currently 42.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ICE shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $153.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $142.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.08.

Intercontinental Exchange Profile

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Canada.