Appleton Partners Inc. MA Lowers Stock Position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA cut its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 8.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 96,284 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,145 shares during the quarter. Intercontinental Exchange comprises approximately 1.3% of Appleton Partners Inc. MA's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Appleton Partners Inc. MA's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $16,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ICE. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 595.8% in the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 167 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 116.7% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $181.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $237.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $189.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $188.46.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, CAO James W. Namkung sold 612 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $110,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,379,600. The trade was a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Judith A. Sprieser sold 2,630 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $418,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,396,876. The trade was a 10.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 227,954 shares of company stock valued at $40,796,663. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of ICE stock traded up $1.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $180.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,101,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,008,321. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $173.17 and a 200-day moving average of $165.02. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a twelve month low of $136.21 and a twelve month high of $181.65. The stock has a market cap of $103.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.12.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.02. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 22.84%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. Intercontinental Exchange's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Intercontinental Exchange's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.75%.

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.