Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Purchases 2,469 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,469 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $5,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ICE. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 601 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.73, for a total transaction of $88,785.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,908,967.06. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.59, for a total transaction 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 approximately $9,821,819.32. This trade represents a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,563 shares of company stock valued at $10,998,990 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of ICE opened at $174.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $164.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.09. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.34 and a 52 week high of $175.99. The stock has a market cap of $100.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

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

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.