Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,174 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $4,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ICE. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,651,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,799,393,000 after acquiring an additional 281,503 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,555,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,848,868,000 after purchasing an additional 169,922 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 44.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,846,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,260,449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,401,630 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 8.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,265,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $865,455,000 after acquiring an additional 390,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,520,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $726,196,000 after acquiring an additional 3,460,096 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ICE opened at $173.59 on Thursday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $163.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.89. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.34 and a 1 year high of $175.41. The firm has a market cap of $99.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.32, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.01). Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 12.95%. Research analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ICE. Barclays raised 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, 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 value of $835,506.99. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 66,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,821,819.32. The trade was a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 7,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.43, for a total value of $1,354,297.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 147,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,247,181.82. The trade was a 5.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,563 shares of company stock worth $10,998,990 over the last three months. 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.