Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Boosts Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 326.3% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,520,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $726,196,000 after buying an additional 3,460,096 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 44.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,846,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,260,449,000 after buying an additional 2,401,630 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2,293.3% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,215,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,171,000 after buying an additional 2,123,185 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 285.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,756,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $282,148,000 after buying an additional 1,301,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $865,455,000 after buying an additional 390,332 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

ICE opened at $173.21 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 company has a market cap of $99.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.24, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.11. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.34 and a 52-week high of $173.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.76.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted 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 analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 7,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.43, for a total value of $1,354,297.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 147,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,247,181.82. This trade represents a 5.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.73, for a total transaction of $88,785.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,908,967.06. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 68,268 shares of company stock valued at $11,262,789. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ICE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of 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 increased their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

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.