Ninety One SA PTY Ltd Grows Position in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 32.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,911 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,755 shares during the period. Intercontinental Exchange comprises approximately 1.6% of Ninety One SA PTY Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd's holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $10,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ICE. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 219.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,146,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,336,371,000 after purchasing an additional 8,348,126 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth approximately $579,605,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,114,267 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,755,753,000 after acquiring an additional 5,354,161 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 25,406,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,606,466,000 after acquiring an additional 4,044,744 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 59.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,275,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $564,869,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589,999 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of ICE stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $130.98. 1,864,283 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,399,533. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 12-month low of $103.81 and a 12-month high of $140.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $75.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $136.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.27.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 23.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. This is an increase from Intercontinental Exchange's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Intercontinental Exchange's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ICE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $142.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $154.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 58,388 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.21, for a total value of $8,011,417.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,179,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,893,392.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 58,388 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.21, for a total value of $8,011,417.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,179,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,893,392.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO James W. Namkung sold 1,182 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.03, for a total value of $156,059.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 16,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,164,763.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 157,491 shares of company stock worth $21,454,204 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.