Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Stock

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) had its price objective upped by Barclays from $179.00 to $189.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on ICE. Raymond James lowered Intercontinental Exchange from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Down 0.4 %

ICE opened at $166.95 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $153.23 and its 200-day moving average is $156.81. The company has a market cap of $95.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.56, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.11. Intercontinental Exchange has a 1-year low of $124.34 and a 1-year high of $169.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 21.31% and a return on equity of 12.75%. Equities research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.59, for a total value of $835,506.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 66,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,821,819.32. This trade represents a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 5,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $932,480.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 156,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,986,080. The trade was a 3.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,795 shares of company stock worth $2,120,572 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Intercontinental Exchange

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 13,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,036,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at about $751,000. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,149,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,324,000 after acquiring an additional 61,235 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 229,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,139,000 after purchasing an additional 106,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 2,074 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

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.