Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $178.80.

Several research firms recently commented on ICE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

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

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 5,661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.59, for a total transaction of $835,506.99. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 66,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,821,819.32. This represents a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 7,900 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 147,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,247,181.82. The trade was a 5.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,563 shares of company stock worth $10,998,990 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth about $228,000. 111 Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,610,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,949,000. Campbell Deegan Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $539,000. Finally, TFR Capital LLC. bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth $1,452,000. 89.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.