Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Hits New 12-Month High Following Dividend Announcement

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $168.55 and last traded at $167.59, with a volume of 417375 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.70.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. This is a boost from Intercontinental Exchange’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.27.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 4.1 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $153.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.74. The stock has a market cap of $96.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last announced 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 net margin of 21.31% and a return on equity of 12.75%. Equities analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.73, for a total value of $88,785.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,908,967.06. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 5,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 156,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,986,080. This represents a 3.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,795 shares of company stock worth $2,120,572 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ICE. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.1% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 33.2% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 728,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,515,000 after purchasing an additional 61,110 shares during the last quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth approximately $702,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 310,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,888,000 after purchasing an additional 4,973 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.