Ayrshire Capital Management LLC Makes New $5.17 Million Investment in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Ayrshire Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 31,947 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,174,000. Intercontinental Exchange comprises 2.4% of Ayrshire Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 3rd quarter valued at about $897,000. Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 127,652 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,507,000 after purchasing an additional 20,981 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 37.7% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,920 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 3,261 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank boosted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 14.6% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 203,731 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,325,000 after purchasing an additional 25,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 18.4% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 107,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 16,635 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total value of $383,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,679 shares in the company, valued at $4,262,566. This represents a 8.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 11,303 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.82, for a total value of $1,738,627.46. Following the transaction, the insider owned 14,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,194,396.12. The trade was a 44.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 348,418 shares of company stock worth $54,196,631 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of ICE opened at $158.76 on Thursday. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 52-week low of $143.17 and a 52-week high of $189.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm's fifty day moving average is $159.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.08. The stock has a market cap of $89.93 billion, a PE ratio of 27.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.03.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 26.23% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Intercontinental Exchange's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.05%.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange NYSE: ICE is a global operator of exchanges, clearing houses and data services that provides infrastructure for the trading, clearing, settlement and information needs of financial and commodity markets. Founded in 2000 by Jeffrey C. Sprecher as an electronic energy trading platform, the company has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to operate a broad portfolio of assets spanning listed equities, futures and options, fixed income, and over-the-counter derivatives.

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