Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,793,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 407,596 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange makes up about 1.9% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $416,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ICE. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $530,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,660,000 after acquiring an additional 3,147 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 188.0% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 10,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 7,081 shares in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 3,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the third quarter valued at about $372,000. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ICE opened at $174.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $100.35 billion, a PE ratio of 36.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.56. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a one year low of $124.34 and a one year high of $177.45.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 10,580 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total value of $1,761,252.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,661,008.24. This trade represents a 32.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 17,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.62, for a total value of $2,849,868.48. Following the sale, the president now owns 155,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,855,091.88. This trade represents a 9.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,563 shares of company stock valued at $10,998,990 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.