Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages
by Michael Walen · The Markets DailyShares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE – Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the eleven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $191.20.
A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $183.00 price target on Intercontinental Exchange and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays set a $193.00 price target on Intercontinental Exchange and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Intercontinental Exchange
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Intercontinental Exchange news, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 13,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.86, for a total value of $2,070,340.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 54,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,357,521.34. The trade was a 19.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 11,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.82, for a total value of $1,738,627.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 14,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,194,396.12. This represents a 44.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 348,418 shares of company stock valued at $54,196,631 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ICE. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 17,398.1% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 54,107,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,763,214,000 after buying an additional 53,798,055 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,418,228,000. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $777,926,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 64.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,354,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,744,480,000 after buying an additional 4,067,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sands Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 97.3% in the second quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 5,313,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $974,783,000 after buying an additional 2,620,310 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.
Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance
Shares of ICE opened at $166.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $160.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $94.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.03. Intercontinental Exchange has a 52-week low of $143.17 and a 52-week high of $189.35.
Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 26.23%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is currently 36.05%.
About Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) is a global operator of exchanges, clearing houses and data services that provides infrastructure for the trading, clearing, settlement and information needs of financial and commodity markets. Founded in 2000 by Jeffrey C. Sprecher as an electronic energy trading platform, the company has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to operate a broad portfolio of assets spanning listed equities, futures and options, fixed income, and over-the-counter derivatives.