Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Sets New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $184.03 and last traded at $183.84, with a volume of 1578215 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $181.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ICE has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $198.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $237.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $181.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $194.42.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.84 billion, a PE ratio of 38.20, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $179.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.84.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 22.84%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 39.75%.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.48, for a total transaction of $283,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,313 shares in the company, valued at $4,847,511.24. The trade was a 5.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 150,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.22, for a total value of $26,883,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,101,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $376,667,570.10. The trade was a 6.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 226,119 shares of company stock worth $40,524,217 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 5.7% in the second quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 7,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,458,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 90.0% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,241,000 after acquiring an additional 10,949 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 19.7% during the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 9,236 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,694,000 after buying an additional 1,517 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 32.3% in the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 594 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 886,369 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $161,195,000 after buying an additional 55,057 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Intercontinental Exchange Company 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.