Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange accounts for about 0.9% of Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $5,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ICE. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter worth $227,000. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.3% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 23,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,851,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 45.7% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 22,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,633,000 after acquiring an additional 7,090 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 18.4% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 70,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,270,000 after acquiring an additional 10,917 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 53.0% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,728,000 after acquiring an additional 8,258 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 7,900 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.43, for a total transaction of $1,354,297.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 147,274 shares in the company, valued at $25,247,181.82. This trade represents a 5.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 601 shares of Intercontinental Exchange 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,908,967.06. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,563 shares of company stock worth $10,998,990. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ICE. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ICE opened at $174.42 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.34 and a 52 week high of $175.99.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 23.42%. On average, analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

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.