Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on ICE. Barclays upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James downgraded shares of 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three equities research 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

NYSE:ICE opened at $166.57 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $95.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $153.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.30. Intercontinental Exchange has a twelve month low of $124.34 and a twelve month high of $169.75.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.63 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.66%.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 5,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $932,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 156,163 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,080. The trade was a 3.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stuart Glen Williams sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total transaction of $114,742.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,955,212.20. The trade was a 5.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,358 shares of company stock worth $5,535,650. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1,470.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 106.1% during the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% 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.