Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 0.3 %

Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $167.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.11. Intercontinental Exchange has a fifty-two week low of $124.34 and a fifty-two week high of $169.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $153.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.06.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share 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%. Analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.08, for a total value of $149,056.40. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 44,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,977,088.16. This trade represents a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.59, for a total value of $835,506.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 66,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,821,819.32. This trade represents a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,358 shares of company stock worth $5,535,650 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ICE. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 106.1% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

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.