Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Stake Boosted by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 34.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,360 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $1,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ICE. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $156.89 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $168.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.78. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.34 and a fifty-two week high of $177.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $90.13 billion, a PE ratio of 32.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ICE shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $237.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 10,580 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,661,008.24. The trade was a 32.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief technology officer now owns 66,548 shares in the company, valued at $9,821,819.32. This represents a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,563 shares of company stock worth $10,998,990 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.