Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Boosts Stock Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.5%, holding 270,080 shares valued at approximately $46.6 million.
• Several analysts have raised their target prices for Intercontinental Exchange, with Barclays increasing its target from $198 to $206, indicating strong market confidence in the stock.
• Intercontinental Exchange recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.05% and a payout ratio of 39.75%.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 270,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,100 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $46,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,883,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,765,317,000 after buying an additional 327,637 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 132.9% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,121,352 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,359,173,000 after buying an additional 5,204,309 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,196,258,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,422,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,105,953,000 after acquiring an additional 655,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 6,160,836 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $918,026,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062,904 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $181.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $194.42.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sharon Bowen sold 795 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.30, for a total value of $145,723.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,749,500. This represents a 5.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 3,848 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.12, for a total value of $689,253.76. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 48,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,683,737.60. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 226,119 shares of company stock worth $40,524,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ICE traded up $0.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $184.52. The company had a trading volume of 2,588,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,851,322. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.29 and a 12 month high of $185.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.01.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Intercontinental Exchange's payout ratio is 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.