Moors & Cabot Inc. Grows Position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $2,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Commons Capital LLC raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Commons Capital LLC now owns 5,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $169.04 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $160.64 and a 200 day moving average of $159.50. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.34 and a 12 month high of $175.41. The firm has a market cap of $97.13 billion, a PE ratio of 35.36, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

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

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Stuart Glen Williams sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total value of $114,742.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 12,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,955,212.20. This trade represents a 5.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.59, for a total value of $835,506.99. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 66,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,821,819.32. This represents a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 67,313 shares of company stock worth $11,113,733. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.