AKO Capital LLP Sells 373,931 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

AKO Capital LLP trimmed its stake in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,605,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 373,931 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange makes up 5.4% of AKO Capital LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. AKO Capital LLP owned approximately 0.45% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $388,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ICE. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Commons Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Commons Capital LLC now owns 5,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ICE. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of 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 research report on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.80.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, President Benjamin Jackson sold 7,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.43, for a total value of $1,354,297.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 147,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,247,181.82. The trade was a 5.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.59, for a total transaction of $835,506.99. Following the transaction, 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 have sold a total of 66,563 shares of company stock worth $10,998,990 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

ICE opened at $175.69 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $166.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.37. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.34 and a fifty-two week high of $176.82. The firm has a market cap of $100.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last announced its quarterly 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

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 $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is currently 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.