Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 413,639 Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,153,170 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 413,639 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.50% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $8,770,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ICE. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Steph & Co. increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Dorato Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 59.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company's stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:ICE opened at $158.62 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.03. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $159.96 and a 200 day moving average of $160.05.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 26.23% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 13,456 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.86, for a total value of $2,070,340.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 54,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,357,521.34. This trade represents a 19.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 150,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $23,250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,651,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $256,014,275. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 348,418 shares of company stock worth $54,196,631 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ICE has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Profile

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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