Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $178.80.

A number of analysts have commented on ICE shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com raised Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 1.4 %

Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $173.21 on Tuesday. The firm 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.79. Intercontinental Exchange has a 12 month low of $124.34 and a 12 month high of $173.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 EPS 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%. Equities analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Stuart Glen Williams sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 12,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,955,212.20. This represents a 5.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 601 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.73, for a total value 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 trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,268 shares of company stock valued at $11,262,789 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,647,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 73,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,022,000 after purchasing an additional 4,787 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 33.2% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 46,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,500,000 after purchasing an additional 11,648 shares in the last quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth approximately $702,000. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 728,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,515,000 after buying an additional 61,110 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.