Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Director Judith Sprieser Sells 4,722 Shares

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Director Judith Sprieser sold 4,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.19, for a total transaction of $798,915.18. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,094.93. The trade was a 32.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:ICE traded up $0.47 during trading on Monday, hitting $169.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,332,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,738,690. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.17 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $165.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $96.63 billion, a PE ratio of 29.37, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.02.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 26.23%.Intercontinental Exchange’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,153,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,770,647,000 after purchasing an additional 413,639 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,816,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,181,125,000 after acquiring an additional 194,325 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,438,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,270,657,000 after purchasing an additional 145,961 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 64.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,354,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,744,480,000 after purchasing an additional 4,067,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,542,780,000. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ICE. Barclays set a $193.00 target price on Intercontinental Exchange and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $195.10.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) is a global operator of exchanges, clearing houses and data services that provides infrastructure for the trading, clearing, settlement and information needs of financial and commodity markets. Founded in 2000 by Jeffrey C. Sprecher as an electronic energy trading platform, the company has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to operate a broad portfolio of assets spanning listed equities, futures and options, fixed income, and over-the-counter derivatives.