AlphaQuest LLC Buys 7,221 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC has increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 115%, now holding 13,502 shares worth approximately $2.33 million.
• Brokerages have raised their target prices for Intercontinental Exchange, with Piper Sandler and Barclays setting new targets of $202 and $212, respectively, indicating strong market sentiment.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, representing a yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 36.85%.

AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 115.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,502 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,221 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $2,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tsfg LLC raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 187.3% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 158 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 595.8% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 167 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 116.7% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the first quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

NYSE:ICE traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $178.73. 2,578,914 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,002,780. The business's 50-day moving average price is $182.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.31. The company has a market cap of $102.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.11. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.29 and a 12-month high of $189.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 23.92% and a return on equity of 13.66%. Intercontinental Exchange's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Intercontinental Exchange's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ICE shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $180.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $194.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 150,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.09, for a total value of $27,463,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,951,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $357,337,668.45. The trade was a 7.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 3,848 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.12, for a total transaction of $689,253.76. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 48,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,683,737.60. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 444,719 shares of company stock worth $80,546,996. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.