Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $176.49 and last traded at $175.58, with a volume of 2777113 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $175.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ICE. UBS Group upped their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $165.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.26. The stock has a market cap of $100.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.01). Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 12.95%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 7,900 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.43, for a total transaction of $1,354,297.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 147,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,247,181.82. This trade represents a 5.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 6,834 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.99, for a total transaction of $1,141,209.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,001,144.28. This trade represents a 27.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,563 shares of company stock valued at $10,998,990. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nwam LLC acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter worth about $240,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 3rd quarter worth about $228,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 0.9% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,715,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 9.0% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 92,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,872,000 after purchasing an additional 7,640 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 17.6% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Intercontinental Exchange

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.