Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) saw a large decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,470,000 shares, a decrease of 14.3% from the January 15th total of 6,380,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, COO Stuart Glen Williams sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total value of $114,742.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,955,212.20. This trade represents a 5.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 955 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.08, for a total transaction of $149,056.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 44,702 shares in the company, valued at $6,977,088.16. This trade represents a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,358 shares of company stock worth $5,535,650. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Intercontinental Exchange

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth about $1,196,258,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 423.8% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 4,546,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $677,465,000 after purchasing an additional 3,678,384 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 326.3% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,520,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $726,196,000 after purchasing an additional 3,460,096 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth approximately $406,728,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 44.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,846,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,260,449,000 after buying an additional 2,401,630 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Down 1.0 %

ICE opened at $166.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $95.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.91, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $154.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.55. Intercontinental Exchange has a twelve month low of $124.34 and a twelve month high of $169.78.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued 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 return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 23.42%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is 37.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on ICE. Barclays lifted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Company 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.