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

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $175.67 and last traded at $175.50, with a volume of 674783 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $173.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on ICE shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 1.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $100.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.74, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.89.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $9,821,819.32. This trade represents a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 5,828 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.71, for a total transaction of $965,757.88. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 164,041 shares in the company, valued at $27,183,234.11. This represents a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,563 shares of company stock valued at $10,998,990. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Intercontinental Exchange

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Commons Capital LLC raised its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Commons Capital LLC now owns 5,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $886,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.