Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Increases Position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 475,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,842 shares during the period. Intercontinental Exchange comprises 1.4% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $70,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ICE. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 3,460,096 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth $406,728,000. FMR LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,401,630 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,123,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1,237.7% in the fourth quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,701,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $253,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574,386 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ICE opened at $169.04 on Thursday. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.34 and a 1-year high of $175.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $160.64 and a 200 day moving average of $159.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.36, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

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 23.42% and a return on equity of 12.95%. On average, research analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ICE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.80.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 10,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total value of $1,761,252.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,661,008.24. The trade was a 32.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $88,785.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,967.06. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 67,313 shares of company stock worth $11,113,733 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange 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.