Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 32.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,077 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $5,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ICE. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. now owns 5,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 1st quarter worth approximately $226,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 305.6% in the first quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 305.7% during the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 16,528 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,851,000 after acquiring an additional 12,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 4.5% during the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 400,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,157,000 after acquiring an additional 17,348 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ICE shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $189.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $181.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $237.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $188.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, CAO James W. Namkung sold 612 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $110,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,379,600. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Judith A. Sprieser sold 2,630 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total value of $418,170.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,396,876. The trade was a 10.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 227,954 shares of company stock valued at $40,796,663. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ICE traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $181.74. 2,137,138 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,000,415. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12-month low of $136.25 and a 12-month high of $182.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $174.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.62. The firm has a market cap of $104.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

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

Intercontinental Exchange 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.